Enamored 3: A Bride in Love
by Petrichorius
Summary: Lena has been enjoying the life of doing what she does best; living in luxury, posing as something she's not and hiding the secrets of her affair and who and what she really is from the people around her. However one night, when she's confronted by a group of witches, her beliefs are challenged and she must decide who she trusts and who has been lying to her.
1. Chapter 1 - The Engagement

I don't want peace.

I want late nights and

Dark rings, action and

Bright lights, love and

Heartbreak and feeling

And pain. I want you.

I want to breathe in life.

And breathe out poetry.

_David Jones, Love and Space Dust_

**Chapter 1**

His hand rests on mine on top of the dinner table, in public for all of them to see. He gives my hand a small squeeze and runs his other hand through his short black hair. His dark eyes move to his pocket and I give him a small nod, turning my attention to the meal in front of me. He moves from his seat to stand and clears his throat, claiming his family's attention.

"Mother, father…" He begins, nodding to each of them. "I have a question I would like to ask someone who's very special to me. And I would like to do it in the presence of my loyal family." His parents exchange a glance and his father sits back, squaring his stern shoulders. My hand is grabbed once again and I turn to see him looking at me.

"Lena, will you stand with me?" I widen my eyes and glance between him and his parents before moving to my feet.

"I know we haven't known each other for very long... but those four months have felt like a lifetime. I feel that you will not be surprised when I tell you I've loved you since I first met you. And I can tell you feel the same for me too. So I guess all that's left for me to ask is…" He looks to his parents once more, before moving to one knee and reaching a hand into his pocket. From it, he withdraws a small black box and when he opens it he asks,

"Lena Flitwick, will you marry me?" Sitting in the box is a very expensive-looking engagement ring. I hear his mother gasp and my eyes fill with tears as I move my hands to my mouth. I gasp and give my best surprised expression. Behind his head I can see Felix move to his feet, an angry look on his face.

"Yes, Li! Of course I will!" I squeal, moving my hands to his. He smiles brightly and slides the ring on my finger before standing and holding his arms out for me. I run into them and hug him tightly, allowing the tears to roll down my cheeks. We break apart as his mother stands, a stern look on her face. I give her my best doe-eyed expression.

"Mrs Gao-" I begin but am cut off as she raises a hand. I'm instantly reminded of Cassiopeia. She says something in Chinese to Li and I blink at him. He responds to her in the same language and I struggle to pick up on the few words I recognise. He then adds,

"Mother, please _try _to speak English for Lena. She doesn't understand you." He bows his head to her slightly.

"Are Miss Flitwick's parents agreeable to this?" She asks in a heavy accent.

"Mother, remember they're-" Li begins.

"They've passed." I say, keeping my innocent expression. Li and his mother converse for a moment before his mother places one hand on my cheek and her other on Li's.

"If you're happy, my son- then so am I." She says. Li's father walks to his side and Li looks at him expectantly. My hand is on his shoulder and I feel him tense up beneath my palm. I find I'm also drawing a breath for him. His father looks at him with a stern look and I can see his mind hard at work. His father glances over me for a moment before the corners of his mouth eventually turn up. He gives his son a pat on the back and laughs, Li's tension fades away as he joins his father in smiling.

"Beautiful Lena," His father begins. "Would you mind if I stole your fiancé away for a father-son celebration?" His tone implies he's giving me a choice but as I'm used to with his father, there is none. "We may even discuss some business." His father finishes. Li nods to his father before looking at me; for the first time tonight there is genuine excitement in his eyes. I smile to them and nod once more; I find his father prefers it when I don't say much more than I have to.

"I'll meet you later in the evening, darling. We can discuss wedding plans." I don't even finish my sentence before Felix is at my side, itching to drag me away from this. I say good night to the three and walk by Felix's side in the direction of the Li's bedroom in the Gao family estate. Once we're out of earshot Felix begins talking.

"What the hell was that?" He stares straight ahead of him as he asks.

"I couldn't tell you, we needed everyone to seem surprised." I reply.

"It's one thing to _imply _that you're getting engaged, It's a whole other to announce it in front of his family."

"Felix, it had to be done. His father wasn't buying the whole 'in love' act, we had to seal it with a ring." I bring my left hand in front of me to observe the engagement ring. "And a pretty one at that. This will be hard to part with." I smile to it as we walk and look over at Felix, who's still moping.

"Oh will you cheer up? You know none of it is real."

"It's real to _him_. You should see the way he looks at you."

"I've seen it and it's completely without feeling. You know how I know?" We stop walking, we're out the front of the bedroom door.

"How?" He asks, slightly uninterested.

"Because it's not at all similar to the look you give me." I raise an eyebrow, folding my arms. Felix looks to the floor.

"Call Laura. You deserve the love of someone who's single."

"I wish you would stop saying that, Lena, I don't _love_ you."

"Is that right?" I raise an eyebrow.

"You're not my type. A go for the sexy hunter who knows where to kick a man. The kind of girl I fell for in Neverland."

"So if I'm not that girl then who am I?" I lean back against the door, placing my hand on the door knob.

"You're a princess." He says the word with distaste and I stand up straight, narrowing my eyes.

"So what? That's not a bad thing." I cross my arms again.

"Believe me, it is." He shakes his head, taking a few steps away from me.

"Whatever. It's your night off, where is William?" I ask, looking up and down the corridor.

"Probably out drunk at some bar. I'll find him." He ruffles his hair.

"Good night." I nod to him. He nods back before walking off and I push the door open to the room. When I walk in my eyes are first drawn to the new bouquet of bright blue tulips on the vanity. I approach the flowers and grab the card attached to them. I smile so wide it nearly hurts and my heart flickers as I read it.

'_-Forever yours_' It reads. I run the back of my hands gently along the tulip's outer petal and hear the door open and close behind me. Li sighs as he sees the flowers.

"Your lover really has to stop sending those." He says as he slides off his jacket.

"He never includes his name- if someone saw it they would just assume you sent it. It's fine." I pick up the bouquet and walk with it to the bedside table.

"How was your meeting with your father?" I ask as I place it down.

"Great. I was right, too- the engagement really reassured him that we're serious." He replies.

"Mhm. But isn't this going to break your mother's heart when this whole thing is over?"

"By the time this is all over I'll have gotten her a nice place with a lake and a garden and she'll be so happy that I've taken over the family business that she won't mind if I wait a bit longer to get married."

"Right." I walk over to the room divider and slip into some comfortable pyjamas.

"By the way- your William friend was hitting on my cousin again today. You need to tell him to rein it in." Li says, after having dressed in black pyjama pants. He goes without a top as he climbs onto the king bed. He's got very little chest hair for someone in their mid-twenties, and he's quite attractive.

"Believe me, I've tried. I swear he's not usually like this- he's just taken to drinking a lot lately and he refuses to explain to me his reasoning for it. I suppose I can call my aunt." I sigh, walking over to Li's wardrobe and retrieving one of his cotton shirts. I walk over to the bed and toss it over to him. He picks it up and raises an eyebrow at me.

"What's this?"

"It's a shirt, put it on." I climb into the opposite side of the bed and smile at my tulips once more.

"Why?" He asks.

"Because sleeping in the same bed was your idea and sometimes you hug me in your sleep."

"You're the one with the Veela pheromones, I'm only human." He shrugs, placing on his reading glasses and grabbing some of his work files.

"Step lying to me, Li." I roll my eyes at him and he smirks at me.

"Speaking of..." I turn to face him. "Any luck with your connections?"

"You know I'll tell you when I hear something new. It'd be more encouraging if you told me _why_ I'm finding out where the witch covens of the world reside."

"The gratitude of your beloved fiancé isn't enough encouragement?" The pillow my head is resting on is soft and pleasant and my eyes are beginning to droop; Li chuckles.

"You're adorable."

"Don't call me that I may be a queen one day."

"And by then I'll be the one calling in these kind of favours from _you, _but for now you're still a teenager who's very interested in my grandmother's friends but won't give me an explanation."

"I'm eighteen, actually. And I'm only interested in the ones who were like her- the witches." I roll over on my other side and close my eyes. "We can continue this discussion tomorrow. Good night." I add.

"Sweet dreams, wifey." I hear his pen scratching on the paper in his lap and suddenly my phone buzzes on the night stand. I retrieve it and smile at the text I've received.

'Did you get my flowers?' The text reads.

'Haven't heard from you in a month, thought you'd disappeared. How did you know my favourite colour?' I reply.

"Tell your boyfriend I said 'hi'." Li says, not taking his eyes off his paper work. My phone buzzes.

'It was instinct. I miss you.' Peter responds.

'I miss you too.'- I pause before decided if I should add my latest surprise news. Ironically the diamond shine of my engagement ring catches my eye. -'Can you call me?.' I hit send.

'Can't. I'm incognito currently. Long story.' He responds. I bite my lip, remembering our last conversation.

'Is Laura still hanging around you?' I ask.

'She's still helping me, yes. Can't respond any more, sorry.' He texts. I sigh, placing the phone back on the table.

"Trouble in paradise?" Li asks. I roll back over to face Li and nod.

"I've never been jealous before. It sucks." I pout my lips.

"Is there another woman?" He asks, still not taking his eyes off his work.

"Just an annoying little blonde who hates me. I wouldn't put it past her to try something." I respond.

"Well you trust him don't you? Has he ever cheated on you?" I think back to the image of him and Emmeline intertwined on her bed and have to rub it out of my eyes.

"Sort of. Not really, no. But also-" I shake my head. "I don't know" I add.

"Doesn't sound like there's a lot of trust." He shrugs, finally moving his eyes off his work and to me.

"Our love is worth it." I pout my lips as I look up at him. He rolls his eyes.

"You sound really girly right now." He chuckles slightly.

"Shut up, no I don't. What I mean is that what we have is different to a regular relationship. We've been through a lot. No matter what happens we'll get through it..." I close my eyes, and pull my blanket over my shoulders. I think about this and add, "I mean, there's nothing that can break love, right?" Li remains silent for a moment before he responds.

"People change. They can always change their mind." He says eventually.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>New series is here! Taking a new approach in the creation of this one so about 80% of the planning is already set out and I've left plenty of room for change. Haven't decided on a title yet but that, as well as the next chapter, may be a short wait while I tackle exam week. Happy reading!


	2. Chapter 2 - The Announcement

**Chapter ****2**

The dream is the same as they've all been. I'm running through the halls of a stylish mansion and Peter is chasing me with a smile on his face. I'm wearing a short white dress with a long white lace robe flowing behind me and Peter's dressed in a suit. I turn the corner and Felix jumps out at me, picking me up and spinning me around. He's also dressed in a suit, as is William who walks in the room and gives me a sly smile while he fastens the cuff links on his suit. I leave Felix's arms and continue walking down the hall, the three men following behind me protectively. At the end of the hall I reach an arch way and beyond it is a throne room. Cassiopeia stands at the bottom of the throne, looking at me with a blank expression. I approach her and get glimpses of myself walking in the mirrors on the wall. My wings are extended behind me and their feathers are ruffled slightly by the draft. Once I reach Cassiopeia's side she places a hand on my cheek and looks at me sadly. She looks in the direction of the three men who have stopped walking and are standing in the middle of the room.

"You know they can't fill that void." She says, moving her hand to my chest, over where my heart is. I look back at the men and each hold out their hand for me to take.

I'm then brought out of my sleep by the sunlight on my face. I look to the end of the bed to see Li already getting dressed in a stylish suit, similar to the kind I saw in my dream.

"Please don't tell me I have to get up." I groan, burying my face in the pillow.

"I've got a breakfast meeting so you can relax a bit longer. We do have to make an appearance at a business lunch, though." Li turns around to face me.

"Are you going to announce it then?" I mumble.

"Yes." Just as he says it a maid walks into the room and starts cleaning up. Li gives me an apologetic smile.

"How about for dinner we out somewhere quiet and then have some fun on the town after?" He walks around to my side of the bed and I sit up to do his tie. The maid continues to eye us suspiciously, clearly Li's father hasn't backed down on the suspicion that this relationship is a fake... even though he's right. I fasten Li's tie and stand up to place a kiss on his cheek before glancing over to the maid again. She quickly looks away from us, picks up a tea tray and leaves the room.

"What kind of fun?" I ask as the door closes.

"Maybe a club? You like those, don't you?" Li grabs his suitcase and walks to the mirror. The maid re-enters the room and I walk up behind him to look at his reflection while we speak.

"Maybe somewhere with VIP?" I give him a sweet smile as I ask it and he laughs.

"I'll send a car to pick you up for lunch. My aunt sent you a dress that you can wear, by the way." He nods to the wardrobe where a black box sits with a silver ribbon. I walk over to it and read the designer label on the front.

"Good bye, darling." Li says, walking out of the room. I make eye contact with the maid once again and she begins to scuffle out of the room.

"Miss Zhang?" I call to her. I ask for some tea in Chinese and she smiles at me brightly. The maids seem to appreciate when I attempt to speak their language, even though I'm sure I speak it poorly. Li is too kind to criticise me, however, and I feel more like the ditzy trophy-wife of a wealthy man when I attempt it in public. Once she leaves I open the black box and take out the black dress inside. It's short and has long lace sleeves, I can't help but smile at it when I hold it to my body in the mirror. This lifestyle won't get old quickly. I place the dress on the king bed and walk to the bathroom to shower. After washing up, I leave in my silk robe to find a fresh porcelain pot of tea on a silver food tray. A plate of dumplings rests next to it and an American gossip and style magazine is by it's side. I pour the Jasmine tea into a cup and grab a dumpling with my chopsticks. After spending the morning munching on the dumplings, drinking tea and reading my magazine I walk to the balcony and look down at the garden. I'm in the middle of admiring the cherry blossoms, it's the perfect season for their bloom, when there's a knock at the door.

"Come in." I call back. Felix walks in and stops short when he sees me in my robe. I instantly remember the transparency of this robe when in direct sunlight and I notice Felix's cheeks go red when he sees my dark red lingerie. I can't help but smirk at him.

"You've seen me in my underwear before, Felix." I fold my arms, leaning on the railing. Felix has moved his eyes to the roof and appears quite uncomfortable.

"You weren't in love with my best friend then." He murmurs, probably assuming I can't hear him.

"What was that?" I raise an eyebrow.

"I was wondering if you wanted to fit in a workout this morning, as long as you're not busy." He shifts his weight and moves his eyes to the ground.

"I could fit in a quick session." I shrug, walking back into the room. Felix steps away from me as I come close and he heads for the door.

"I'll meet you in the garden." I tell him, grabbing some work-out wear from my wardrobe. I hear the door close behind me without another word from Felix and can't help but smirk. I know it's bad but I just love seeing him squirm like that.

I meet Felix in the garden and notice he's already set out some work equipment. We work through some side by side stretching and Felix runs through some combat techniques with me. I find that I've become rusty after my time spent in luxury. It's also not at all like how it was when we trained together at Neverland. Felix always seems distracted; and sometimes when my breath is close to his face or his hands are on my body he gets a dazed look in his eyes. I really wish I could turn this whole pheromone thing off. It does, however, mean that I usually have the upper hand when we wrestle and I'm able knock him off his feet. Half an hour passes before I lose my balance and fall on him. He steadies us but we end up in a tight embrace. I catch my breath and he looks dazed once again. He blinks a few times and shakes his head.

"I think I'm getting better at ignoring that feeling." He tells me with a stunned grin. I smile at him and unlatch myself from his arms as soon as I hear footsteps on the nearby pavement.

"Miss Flitwick, the car is here for you." The man says. He's got an earpiece in and is wearing dark sunglasses and a suit; he's definitely my bodyguard. This brings a thought to mind and I nod to him.

"Tell the driver I'll be there in twenty." I call to him, turning back to Felix, who has a raised eyebrow.

"What? I need time to get ready." I smirk at him and he rolls his eyes.

"_Women._" He says.

"Anyway... have you seen William? It's his turn to escort me around today." I begin to walk inside and Felix walks by my side.

"He's probably sleeping off a hangover. I can escort you, if you want." He offers.

"No, you're constantly doing stuff like this and it's not even your job, you deserve time to yourself."

"I don't mind." He shrugs. I stop walking and turn to face him when we reach the bottom of the steps.

"No; go have fun. That's an order." I give him a smile before leaving him to walk up the steps.

"Whatever you want." He says before walking away. I glance back at him from the second floor balcony and move my hand to my pocket to bring out my phone. I open it up and send a text to Peter.

'Missing you.' I hit send and reach the bedroom door. After fifteen minutes of preparation for a public, media-covered appearance I head for the guest room where William is staying. After a few stern knocks the door opens to reveal William standing there looking tired in nothing but a towel around his waist.

"Hey there." He smiles at me, looking at me up and down.

"You look great." He nods, rubbing his eyes.

"Wish I could say the same for you. You have five minutes, get dressed."

"Fine." He closes the door and I walk to look out the hallway window. A few minutes later the door opens and he emerges in a casual suit and sunglasses. He yawns as he closes the door and we walk outside to the waiting black, window-tinted car. I see my reflection in the window and smile at how nice my new red lipstick looks. William opens my door for me and I slide on my sunglasses before sliding into the car. After the drive in the mostly silent car, with small talk here and there from William, we arrive at the venue that's holding the business lunch.

The car door is opened for me and William offers his hand for me to step out of the car. After he helps me I feel his hand move to the small of my back. I pick up my purse and discreetly swat away his hand before heading for the front doors, which are then opened for me by a doorman. Standing in the foyer is a professional-looking woman wearing a black skirt with a black blazer over a hot pink blouse. I smile to her with a nod as I recognise her as Li's assistant.

"Miss Flitwick" She nods to me, gesturing for me to head for one of the many elevators. I step into one and William moves to my side; Li's assistant stands in front of us and the bodyguard that Li sent stands next to her.

"Am I late, Jun?" I ask the assistant.

"No, Miss Flitwick, they've already begun eating but the event will not start until you and Mr Gao are both there." She replies, rearranging the files in her hands. The elevator dings and the door opens, I'm greeted with the sight of a large dining room filled with many men in suits. William and the bodyguard step out of the elevator and move to stand near the walls up near the front and Jun leads me to a table at the front, where I see Li and his parents. Li stands as soon as he sees me and I lean forward to kiss his cheek.

"You look lovely." He says.

The lunch begins with Li's father talking in Chinese about what I assume is the status of their company and he finishes his speech with a toast. My name is mentioned and Li has me stand by his side while holding his hand. A group of animated reporters run up to us to take pictures while asking us questions. Most are speaking Chinese but there is the odd English question here and there.

"Miss Flitwick, is that a baby bump?" One female reporter asks.

"Who are you wearing, Lena?" Another questions.

I look to Li and he gives me a reassuring smile, reminding me to just do my job by smiling and looking like I'm in love. We get pictures of Li and I while I hold up my ring hand and then some with Li's parents. Eventually Li's father orders them to go and they're escorted to the back tables by some of the bodyguards. During the rest of the lunch we eat a fancy meal and the occasional couple come up to congratulate Li and I on our engagement. I end up with the contact details of many of the business partner's wives and by the time the lunch is over my cheeks hurt from smiling. Li and I are ushered into an elevator and as soon as the door's close and sigh and sit on the small comfy couch they have in there.

"Well done in there; this made my father pleased." He brings out his phone and begins to text on it. I nod to him and move to my feet to check my appearance in the wall mirror. "Oh and Lena-" He begins, cut off by the elevator door opening. He holds his arm out for me and I take it. We walk to the black car that's waiting for us and a few more reporters run up to take pictures and ask us questions about our engagement. William appears at our side suddenly and helps another bodyguard keep the reporters away from us long enough for us to get in the car. When Li closes the door behind us he continues what he was saying.

"I was told that you were wrestling in the garden with that Felix boy you brought with you." He raises an eyebrow. I lean back on the comfy seat and look over at him.

"Is that a question or a statement?" I ask him. He gets that look on his face he only gets when I'm annoying him.

"You can't do stuff like that any more." He looks at me sternly.

"We were working out. Felix and I are purely platonic." I roll my eyes, knowing this annoys him more.

"Does he know that?" He questions, bringing out his phone as it buzzes.

"Need I remind you that we're not actually engaged? You don't have a say over stuff like this."

His phone continues to buzz and he hits answer, covering the microphone,

"I do when my image is at stake- that's a part of this deal. I don't care that you work out with him but you could at least do it in the privacy of a room inside the estate. Now I have a call to take." He puts the phone to his ear and begins to speak in Chinese. I roll my eyes and look out the window at the busy road beside us; I have to fight the urge to grab his annoying phone and throw it out the window.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Nightclub

**Chapter ****3**

Li finishes his phone conversation and hangs up. As soon as he does he sends a text and then proceeds to tap his phone on his knee a few times; I can see something is playing on his mind.

"What is it?" I ask, still slightly annoyed at the nature of our previous conversation.

"I have a meeting to go to- I can't come with you to dinner." He looks over at me as he says it.

"Surprise, surprise." I sigh, looking out the window. I hear his phone buzz and Li leans forward to say something to the driver. He sits back and against the seat.

"I've organised for someone else to accompany you to dinner." He says.

"Who?" I raise an eyebrow to him.

"Where would you like to go?" He asks, ignoring me. I look at him darkly and he just stares right back at me.

"I don't like it when you challenge me, Li." I say, keeping my expression.

"You just don't like it that there are people who dare to. I imagine the only other person who does is your secret love affair and when I do it it reminds you of him."

"Very insightful," I say it dryly, adding, "The difference between you and him, though, is that I don't want to spend the night in bed with you."

"But you do sleep with me." He raises an eyebrow, his lip corner curls up in amusement.

"Not what I meant." I shake my head.

"You and him won't last- you know." He keeps his gaze fixed on me.

"Oh really? And why is that?" I ask, giving him a dry look.

"Because you get bored easily. If you're given the opportunity to stray from the monotony of being tied down to one man then you'll take it."

"What makes you think that?"

"You're here pretending to be my fiancé rather than with him pretending to be in love."

"I am in love with him."

"That may be so but you're in love with your freedom more." I close my mouth, going silent as I look at him. A moment passes and I reply.

"Why are you saying this, Li?"

"It might be more beneficial to me if you stick around and go through with the wedding. I want you to know that a life of excitement and luxury is available to you if you want it."

"You know, I think the fact that you don't want to marry a nice, entitled, normal girl says a lot about you." Li smiles with amusement at me again and the car comes to a stop.

"Normal people are just boring, though, aren't they Lena?" The door is opened for Li and he nods to me.

"I'll speak with you later. Enjoy dinner." He slides out of the car and I'm left blinking with surprise. Li has never spoken to me like that; damn, I really hope he's not falling for me. I'm even more surprised when William appears in the seat where Li was sitting.

"Where are we having dinner, then?" He asks, his tie is undone and his top buttons are loose.

–

We drive to an upmarket nightclub where Li has organised our access to the VIP lounge. The driver pulls up to the back entrance where someone waits to let us in the door. This is the route of access where the rich and affluent enter when they don't want to be seen by the media. In this case, the newly engaged partner of one of the wealthiest in China shouldn't be seen drinking with another man. We shown to a booth in a room on the second floor of the club. The second floor acts as a balcony and tinted glass keeps us hidden from the dancers on the floor below, even though we can see all the happenings of the dance floor. The VIP lounge here has it's own private bar and as soon as we're seated some drinks are brought over and menus are placed in front of us.

"I've been here before," William begins in a loud voice, trying to talk over the loud music, "Except I was one of the commoners down there." He nods to the dance floor. I raise an eyebrow at him and he continues.

"I think a down-side to being up here, though, is that we can't dance."

"We could always sneak down." I shrug as I say it, picking up the menu.

"And have a picture of you dancing drunkenly on the front page of the gossip magazines? I wouldn't be doing my job very well." He responds and I can't help but laugh.

"Since when do you ever do your job?" He smirks and picks up his menu. We order our dishes and continue drinking as the night goes on. Once we finish eating I excuse myself to use the bathroom and return to see that William has invited some people over to join us in our booth. There are three woman and two men, all of whom have some affluence over the different areas of their careers. The two men are lawyers; from my conversation with them they're very intelligent and they give me advice on prenuptial agreements. By the end of the night, I get both their contact details. When it comes to the women, one is a fashion designer and she's brought along her girlfriend who's a model. The two hang off my arms for the rest of the night and the designer tries to talk me into doing some modelling for her new line of lingerie. I decline but she gives me her contact details anyway, we come to an agreement that she'll send me some of her clothes and in return I'll wear them whenever I'm going to a media-covered event. The third woman is a famous actress, William has her by his side all night and I can only assume she's his latest conquest. We play drinking games and laugh and chat all night. William's phone buzzes, signifying that it's now 2am and I'm expected back at the estate. We excuse ourselves and I make sure I have the numbers of everyone at the table, they all might be useful to me one day. William seems to be able to hold his alcohol better than me because to ensure that I don't trip on my own feet, which is very likely, he picks me up and carries me to the car. We walk out to the back ally where we were dropped off to find that the car hasn't arrived yet and we're left laughing drunkenly in the ally.

"Lena- Lena, shut up for a second, listen to me." William laughs, trying to speak over my intoxicated ramblings about dumplings.

"Yes what is it, Mr Flitwick?" I giggle, raising an eyebrow. William puts me down so I can stand on my own feet and he places his hands on my shoulders to steady my swaying.

"Do you remember the wine cellar?" He asks with a devious smile.

"You mean do I remember when we almost made love? Yes I do, William." I throw my head back and giggle again. William laughs as he has to steady me again.

"Well, I'm pretty sure this place has a wine cellar." He smiles down to me. I immediately break out into laughter at him.

"You're such an idiot!" I move away from his arms to rest on the brick wall. Li's words start ring in my head. 'You get bored easily. If you're given the opportunity to stray from the monotony of being tied down to one man then you'll take it.' I smirk as I think about it and William loses his smile as he notices me.

"You don't think about me like that?" He walks over to stand at my side.

"I'm a bad person." I shake my head at him.

"Well you know that saying- when you're good you're great. But when you're bad you're better." He leans down to me and kisses my shoulder. I close my eyes and my mind instantly goes to Peter, I imagine it's him who's kissing me. William moves his mouth to kiss my neck and a tingle goes down my spine, my whole body enjoying the feel of his touch. I move my hand up to his cheek to stop him from kissing me and he grabs my wrist and presses it against the wall.

"This filthy wall is ruining my dress." I say to him in a low voice.

"So then let's take it off." He moves his hand to my hip and he runs it across its lace fabric. His breath smells sweet on my face and I feel myself being lifted by him again. Suddenly his mouth is on mine and my back is being pressed to the wall. The sober part of my brain is screaming warning signs but so much of me wants to ignore it. That resentful part of my brain reminds of the images I have of Peter and Emmeline together in bed and I feel jealousy rise up inside me. Suddenly I hear the sound of a car coming down the alleyway. William hears it too and he looks at me intently.

"Let's go." There is the hint of a question in his statement. He wants to know if I agree to leaving with him and going back to a hotel room somewhere. Before I can answer he takes my hand and leads me back inside the club. We narrowly avoid being seeing in the headlights of the oncoming car. William brings out his phone as soon as we're inside and he begins a phone call. There are so many conflicting thoughts and feelings running through my head and my good sense of judgement is escaping me; I cannot find a decent reason not to leave with William.

It's when my phone buzzes and I read my text that I'm reminded of the one reason that's worth what I do next. While William's back is turned, I walk outside the door again and get into the car that's waiting for me.

"Just go." I tell the driver, who appears relieved at seeing me get in the car. The brightness of my phone screen lights up the cab and the message I received is still on it.

'I miss you too.' From Peter.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Opium Den

**Chapter ****4**

When the car finally comes to a stop I'm already on the verge of sleeping in the back seat. I feel the door open by my side and hands reach out to lift me. I blink my eyes open but I can't seem to recognise where I am. I hear a woman's voice.

"Get this out of here. He probably has a tracker on it." The woman says in a stern voice. I moan and stretch my arms, the person who's holding me moves me downwards and I feel grass beneath me. I hear the sound of a nearby car driving away.

"What the-" I begin, cut off by a sharp prick in my arm. This causes me to thrash my hands about, warning signals once again echoing in my intoxicated thoughts. I open my eyes and try to understand my surroundings but whatever was just injected into me is quickly taking control of my conciousness. I feel myself slipping into the darkness that clouds my vision.

"Shh, Lena. Rest." The woman says, I feel her stroking my hair. I try to speak but my words come out in unintelligible mumbles.

–

"Lena, wake up." I hear Felix' voice and feel my cheeks being lightly slapped. I thrust my eyes open quickly and sit up, only to feel the sudden urge to throw up. I go very dizzy and have to lie back down again.

"You look so glamorous right now, Mrs Gao." I hear Li say sarcastically. I open my eyes and feel a painful headache come on as my eyes adjust to the sunlight. Felix is holding a water bottle out in front of me and I take it to sip with a nod of gratitude. I look around to see that I'm in dusty room with torn wallpaper and old run-down furniture.

"Where am I?" I ask, leaning back on the couch I've been placed on.

"I thought you would remember, seeing as you paid the driver a large amount of your allowance for him to bring you here." Li says, moving to sit on the spot next to me, where Felix was once sitting.

"What?" I look over at him and my stiff neck aches with pain.

"We're in an opium den, Lena." He shakes his head, bringing his buzzing phone out of his pocket and to his hand.

"I didn't ask to be brought here. The woman did." I furrow my eyebrows, struggling to remember the events of the night. I get flashbacks of kissing William and feel my cheeks flush with heat. I look up and Felix is studying my face curiously.

"What woman?" He asks, sitting on an armchair near me.

"I don't know who it was but she knew my name." I tell him.

"What did she look like?" Felix asks, looking at me with concern.

"I don't remember." I shake my head.

"Of course you don't." Li says, rolling his eyes. "Lena, I wish you weren't so childish." I look at Li and he widens his eyes at me, clearly he can tell his comment has put me in a worse mood than I'm already in.

"I'm not lying, someone stuck a needle in my arm." I move to look at the ruined sleeves of my dress but see that there is no puncture wounds at all.

"What the hell?" I furrow my eyebrows again. I look up at Li and he shakes his head in disbelief. I then turn to Felix and get the impression that he, too, doesn't believe me.

"If you are having a problem with substance abuse then you can tell us, Lena. Just don't make us worry by staying out all night and then lie to our faces." Li says, a serious look on his face.

"What?!" I would stand to show my anger at his comment but I might fall over. "When I'm not with you I'm cooped up in that house all day- you would know if I was developing an addiction!" I look to Felix in desperation for someone to side with me. He keeps his eyes on mine but eventually looks to the floor silently.

"I can't believe this." I shake my head.

"If you insist you're clean then you won't mind a trip to Dr Wang." Li stands, placing his phone in his pocket.

"Fine, whatever." I push myself up from the sofa and Felix moves to my side, placing a steadying hand on my arm. I pull my arm away from him as punishment for his disloyalty and he sighs at me, moving close by my side anyway. When Li opens the room door his assistant is standing on the other side with sunglasses for both Li and I as well as a baseball caps for both of us.

"If the media hear about this little mishap we're going to have a serious problem." Li says, looking at me sternly. I put on the sunglasses and hat and Felix hands me his leather jacket to wear over my ruined party dress. We sneak out the back entrance and a little old man scurries after us and calls out something in Chinese. I don't recognise what he says but it appears to annoy Li. When we get into the car waiting in the ally Li informs me of what the man said.

"You're welcome back there any time." He grumbles. Taking off his glasses and hat and running his hand through his hair.

"Li, I'm telling you- I didn't go there by choice and I didn't take any drugs. Why do you suddenly distrust me?" I ask.

"I just keep being reminded that you're so young. You're still a teenager." He shakes his head, bringing his buzzing phone to his hand.

"Someone kidnapped me last night." I look at him sternly.

"Right. They kidnapped you and then called me telling me where you were, I'm sure." His tone is dripping with sarcasm.

"Who called you?" I lean back on the seat, still sipping on my water.

"The people that owned the drug den, they recognised you and knew that there would be money for their silence. I'll also remind you that you paid the driver a lot of money to take you there. You're becoming more of a liability to the company than an asset at this point."

"I didn't pay anyone anything, I was taken there against my will and probably drugged." I rub my hand over where I felt the stab.

"Lena, enough. Just be quiet until we get you tested at Dr Wang's." He rubs his eyes and his phone rings. When he presses decline I can tell he's already in a bad mood. It's then that my phone begins to buzz. I bring it out of my purse and notice I have a new message from Peter.

'I read an interesting news article today. Should I expect a 'save the date'?' The text reads. I sigh and place my phone in my purse; I completely forgot to mention the engagement to Peter.

Eventually we arrive at the lab where Li's family doctor works and I'm ushered inside to undergo a few tests. They take my blood, among other DNA samples, and I'm given some replacement clothes from Li's assistant. I dress in the jeans and blouse and wash my face and tame my hair in the lab bathroom. When I walk out to join the others Li is being talked to by the doctor and he looks annoyed. Felix is sitting on some of the waiting chairs and I walk over to join him.

"I didn't do any drugs voluntarily, Felix. Someone is out to get me." I look at him with seriousness and he looks back at me with concern. Before he can reply Li walks over to us with some files in his hand and he grabs his jacket.

"Let's go, we're going home." He orders.

"See? I told you I didn't do anything." I jump from the seat and hurry along behind him. He stops suddenly and waves the file in my face.

"They found something, Lena. It's not opium but it's something." There is a hint of worry on his face.

"What are you saying?" I raise an eyebrow.

"I think you were right. Someone out to get you; and I think it's the witches." He takes my arm with his free hand and leads me out of the lab.

"I told you." I mutter, trying to keep up next to him. We get to the car and Felix appears in front of us, blocking us from getting in.

"If Lena's in danger we need to leave, we can't just go hide at your family estate. We can't trust your drivers, either." As Felix says it he places his hand on my other arm.

"This is my personal driver, it's safe. And we're not going to the estate, we're going to my apartment in the city. I have guards there." Li says, pulling me towards him.

"Lena's safety is mine and William's responsibility. And ultimately it's Queen Cassiopeia's decision." Felix pulls me closer to him as he says it. I shrug my arms free from both of them and give them a dark look.

"When I made the deal with Cassiopeia she agreed that Lena would become my wife and I would secure the partnership between our businesses. We're engaged- she's _my responsibility_ now." Li looks at Felix angrily.

"Wait, what?" I step back from them and cross my arms. Cassiopeia organised that I would go through with the marriage? She knew I would never agree to it. Li glances at me but looks straight back at Felix.

"You think you've got us all fooled, Gao, but I know all about your lineage. How am I supposed to know that you're not helping the witches? You are Wiccan yourself." Felix says it as if it's a judgement and the two square their shoulders, ready to throw a punch at any moment.

"Hey!" I rip off my bracelet and throw it in their direction, Li catches it quickly. That bracelet was given to me by Li and it stopped me from being able to turn into a harpy. I glare at Li and he looks at me like I'm a grenade, ready to go off and take them all down. I look to Felix.

"I know Li is Wiccan. I also know that he doesn't have any power, the magic trait stopped at his grandparents. That means that the only one with any power out of all three of us is me. So how about you both shut the hell up and listen?" After wearing the bracelet for so long it's very easy to get agitated. I should be very careful right now.

"Lena..." Li begins, looking at me with the same expression. "You need to put the bracelet back on and get in the car. We don't want you getting any more worked up." He glances around us quickly at the people walking by.

"I do agree that you should put the bracelet back on but, Lena, we should go. Li has secured his position as next-in-line for the role of CEO. Your part of the agreement is fulfilled." Felix says, reaching out a hand towards me. I feel sweat rise on my back from the heat thrashing about my chest.

"Except it's not, Felix." Li turns to me, "Lena, I'm sorry I wasn't truthful but your aunt wanted you to marry me. She wouldn't have agreed to our deal if she didn't think you would be safe and treated well."

"What the hell happened to it being my decision? I'm eighteen, If I didn't want to marry Peter, why would I marry you?" I take another step back from them and my nails begin to ache.

"You were going to marry Pan?" Felix asks, looking hurt.

"Your aunt didn't want you to be with Peter, he's not a suitable partner for you." Li says, taking a half-step towards me, extending the bracelet forward.

"How the hell would you know?" I step back from him.

"Because he's cheating on you, Lena." Li's expression is almost desperate now. I shake my head and almost laugh.

"Stop lying to me." I shout this and some people walking by turn to look at us.

"If I prove it will you put the bracelet on?" Li asks, standing straight. I look over to Felix who's eyes are fixed on the ground and notice a familiar face in my peripheral. A taxi pulls up and a hungover-looking William steps out, walking over to us.

"Felix I got your call- what's going on?" He stands next to me and looks at the uneasiness of our postures. "Woah, what did I just walk into?" He puts his hands in his pockets.

"Nice to see you Lena." He places a hand on my back and raises an eyebrow at me. "Wow, you're really hot." Felix and Li both snap their heads up to glare at him and I furrow my eyebrows at him.

"No- I mean your temperature." He looks between us three and withdraws a vial from his pocket. He takes my hand and places the vial in my palm.

"Where is your bracelet?" He asks. I uncap the vial and drink it quickly. As soon as it runs down my throat I'm able to once again feel the breeze on my skin. My fingernails stop aching and I feel myself becoming calm.

"Everyone get in the car." I order, walking forward and opening the door. The men follow along with my command and as soon as we're all in the car I tell Li to order the driver to take us to his apartment.

"When we get there I'm going to shower and we can discuss what's going to happen next. Am I understood?" They all nod to me and Li places the bracelet on my knee.

"I'm not putting that thing on again." I knock it off and lean back on the seat, looking out the window. As long as they're afraid of me they'll listen.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Sun

**Chapter ****5**

We arrive at the expensive-looking apartment complex and I do my best to act commanding while also figuring out where the elevators are located. The fact that I can't go through most doors without having Li unlock them with his key card also damages my strict image. As soon as the elevator stops Li swipes his key card again and we step into a foyer with a polished tile floor and marble surfaces. I have to do a double take when I realise the whole floor is his apartment. William whistles and commends Li on his wealth and I move toward the lounge area. The men move to take seat but mostly remain silent while they wait for me to talk. I walk forward to look out the skyscraper windows and find that its already getting dark. My head still hurts from my hangover and my muscles feel tense and sore.

"Can I get something for my headache?" I ask without turning around. I hear someone walk to my side and William's hand appears in front of me with a clear glass filled with what looks like scotch. That was quick.

"Not what I meant." I shake my head at him and Li eventually appears at my other side with a glass of water and some pain reliever. I reach out my hand for the glass and take a sip while downing two of the pills. I place the glass down on a nearby table and look to Li who watches me expectantly.

"You need to tell me everything you know." I fold my arms while I tilt my head and Li nods slowly. He walks over to take a seat and I look over at Felix, who's sitting on the opposite couch watching Li expectantly, and then to William, who's over by the bar.

"William, I swear to god." I warn him, looking his way with a dark expression. William looks up at me in surprise and doesn't seem to comprehend my meaning.

"Put the drink down. You're on the wagon from here on out." William places his drink on the bar but gives me a sly smile as he looks over at me.

"You didn't seem to mind the drinking last night." Felix and Li both look my way after he says it and I throw my arms to my side before beginning an angry march over to him. Clearly this frightens William as he steps away from the bar and raises his hands in a defensive motion.

"Fine, fine! I'm sorry, jeez!" He says, raising his eyebrows.

"Go sit down." I point to the sofas and William simply stares.

"You're not my queen yet. You can't give me orders." He shakes his head, setting his jaw.

"Oh, aren't I?" I ask as I move to his side. He tries to push me away but I get a hold on his ear and yank it towards the floor. He lets out a yell of pain and follows willingly as I walk with him over to the sofas. I push him to sit on a sofa and he swears, rubbing his ear.

"You're such a child." I shake my head at him, before walking over to stand in front of the TV so they're all facing me.

"Li, tell me about the witches. Now." I look over to him and he widens his eyes.

"I don't know much, I've told you this. My family don't talk about it at all except my father who sometimes uses his lineage to draw in Wiccan clients. None of us have any of the powers except for my grandparents who've passed." He says, sitting back.

"But you can resist the Veela charm?" I tilt my head to him.

"I guess it's just a side-effect. A natural magic repellent." He shrugs.

"Are there any covens here in the city?" I ask.

"I've heard rumours that there's one that gathers in a hidden location off in the farmlands. It's got some sort of barrier to it though, only people who can recognise magic can find it." He replies.

"Just like the outskirts of Linmoor." I nod, thinking back to Flitwick mountain.

"We have to go there." I unfold my arms, squaring my shoulders with determination.

"Lena... they drugged you. They're dangerous and we don't know exactly what they want." Felix says finally. I look to him.

"They're witches, they'll do anything to mess with Veela." William says, still rubbing his ear.

"If they wanted to hurt me they would. They could have killed me when I was defenceless but they didn't." I shrug. There is a buzzing from the elevator and Li looks over to it. He looks back at me as if waiting for my permission to check who's here and I nod to him. He makes his way over and I hear him talking to someone. I walk over to the foyer and he's talking to his assistant who's holding a handful of magazines and newspapers. He takes the articles from her and she steps back into the elevator, the doors closing behind her. He looks over at me and folds up the papers in his hands.

"What is it?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing, just some ridiculous articles." He folds them over again as if he's trying to scrunch them into a trash pile.

"About me? About the opium den?" I ask, stepping towards him. He walks around my side while he shakes his head.

"No. It doesn't matter." He says, avoiding my outstretched hand. I follow him into the lounge and fold my arms, looking at him with an annoyed expression. He notices me and sighs, handing over the paper. I glance over a few of the headlines and even though it's in Chinese I can recognise a recurring pattern with the writing.

"What is this?" I ask him, pointing to a phrase that's appearing on a lot of them.

"It says 'pregnant', Lena." He shakes his head, taking a seat on the couch.

"You're not, are you?" Felix asks, looking up at me with worried eyes.

"No, for god's sake." I roll my eyes, walking over to the bar.

"Hey!" William says after seeing me pour myself a drink.

"I changed my mind, shut up." I drink down the liquid and shake my head as it burns my throat going down. Li stands and begins to leave the room with his phone in his hand.

"My parents are calling, I need to do damage control." He says to me before closing a door behind him. This prompts a thought. I carry my drink over to the lounge area and pick up one of the remotes on the coffee table. I press some buttons and the TV comes to life playing some sitcom that I don't understand.

"I need to make a call." I say in the direction of Felix and William before walking down a hall to eventually find the master bedroom; which then leads to a balcony. I step onto the balcony and bring my phone out of my pocket, scrolling down to Peter's number. I call his phone and wait while it rings. Eventually it goes to his message bank and I dial the number again, the cold outside air beginning to nip at my arms. I'm about to lose hope when I hear a click on the other line and Laura's laugh can be heard.

"Um, yes. Hello?" She says with a giggle.

"It's Lena. Please put Peter on." I say sternly, instantly feeling annoyed that she's answering his phone. Li's words echo in my head, 'He's cheating on you, Lena'; I have to take another drink from my glass to shut them up.

"Oh, hello Lena." She says dryly. "I'm afraid he's all tied up right now." She giggles again and I feel a heat rise in my chest.

"What?" I snap.

"Oh, don't worry he's just fine." She says.

"I'd like to talk to him. Now." I say sternly.

"I'm afraid I have to go. But don't worry, Lena, I'll keep him company for you." She hangs up and I feel the urge to crush my glass in my hand. Instead I jump at the sound of the glass door behind me opening. Li is at the door with his jacket extended in his hands in offering.

"I don't need it." I snap, shaking my head and looking out at the skyline.

"You're shaking." He says, walking up and placing it over my shoulders anyway. I look down to my arms and notice not only goosebumps but also an accidental self-inflicted scratch from my nails. I uncross my arms so my fingers are no longer digging into my skin.

"I don't know why you're so hostile all of a sudden, I'd feel better if you put the bracelet back on." He walks to my side and leans on the rail, looking out at the sky.

"Maybe I'm so hostile because it feels like I can't trust anyone." I pause, looking at him. "What the hell is with this deal you made with Cassiopeia?" I ask.

"Lena, I'm sorry.-" He begins, but I'm not satisfied, I have to cut him off to continue.

"I thought we had an understanding, I pose as the fiancé and leave as soon as you secure your position as CEO. I mean, was Cassiopeia just trying to marry me off or something?"

"Well can you blame her? She wanted you to have a nice life, she wanted you to live in luxury." He says.

"How am I supposed to be the matriarch from China? Or was that all a lie too? Was she just using that as bait?" I ask.

"I don't know anything about that side of things..." He shakes his head and looks out at the skyline again. I pause before I continue.

"And what did you get out of all this? I know that CEO thing was bull crap, you could have married anyone." I look at him sternly. He glances at me from the corner of his eye and hesitates before answering.

"Li, just tell me." I say it with desperation. He sighs and turns to face me.

"When I saw you for the first time... it wasn't here in China..." He pauses, looking at me again.

"Okay?..." I tilt my head.

"I was at the ball Cassiopeia threw. I saw you then and I just-" He shakes his head. "- I don't know. I knew I wanted to be around you. So I organised a meeting with Cassiopeia that night and we made our deal." He finishes.

"So it could have been anyone, it was just chance that you chose me." It's more of a question than a statement.

"What? No. God, Lena, I don't how it's possible that you're so damn modest. You don't even realise how gorgeous you are. It's not just how you look either, being around you is like- like you're this energy..." he pauses, thinking about it, "You're like the sun." He finishes.

I raise an eyebrow in confusion and he continues,

"You know, you're essential and you burn bright and you have so much power and you don't even try. People want to just stare at you but they can't because staring for too long is dangerous. But that's just what makes you one of a kind. You chase away the dark without any effort." He finishes, his hand has slid closer to mine on the railing and I can almost feel the heat from his fingertips on mine. I move my hands away from the railing and look at him again.

"So in other words you're just a rich boy who wants to collect pretty things and will do anything to get them." I cross my arms as I look at him.

"No, it's not like that." He says quickly. I roll my eyes and head for the sliding door.

"Wait!" He says, grabbing my arm. "At least let me give you this- I promised I'd show you." He adds. I look back at him and he holds some files in his hands. I take them and flick them open, widening my eyes as I realise their contents. Pictures of Laura and Peter kissing fill the file and I can only look at them for a moment before dropping the file on the ground in anger.

"Maybe Cassiopeia agreed to the deal because she knew that he was bad for you. She wanted you to be with someone who loves you." Li says, I feel my eyes beginning to glisten with tears and my chest is filled with heat from all the anger and pain I'm feeling. I look to the ground to try and organise my thoughts but before I know it Li has stepped in front of me and has a hand cupped on my cheek.

"I love you Lena." He repeats it, moving his lips to mine. I'm just about to push him away when I hear Felix' voice behind me.

"So do a lot of us, so I would get your hands off of her." Felix says sternly, yet unsurprised at finding me romantically entangled with yet another man. Li looks up at him with an annoyed expression and I twist out of Li's arms to look behind me. Standing next to Felix in the doorway is William who looks bored and has a drink in his hand. He leans forward so his head is poking out from behind the glass and he can be heard.

"Sorry to crash the private party, but buddy you'd better get in line." He directs it at Li though it's not threatening. I can't help but roll my eyes at the gathering I've caused and I hear myself sniff from the tears. My eyes fall on the pictures on the ground of Peter and Laura kissing and I feel an overwhelming nauseous feeling come over me. When is this love curse going to end?


	6. Chapter 6 - A Dagger to the Heart

**Chapter ****6**

"Okay, I really don't feel well." I say, clutching my stomach. The men turn their attention to me and I feel someone's hand placed on my back and then abruptly pulled off by someone else.

"Will you guys please cut it out for just a few-" I'm cut off by a new feeling. Oh no. I place my hand over my mouth and race into the apartment and force myself into the bedroom en suite. My body forces the contents of my stomach out and I'm left coughing and heaving over the toilet.

"Was it the drink?" I hear William ask, walking in.

"I think it was whatever the witches gave her." I hear Li say. I feel my hair being pulled off my face and gathered in a bunch behind my head. In my peripheral I can see Felix kneeling by my side with a look of worry on his face. His hand is running along my back gently but I can't feel comfort from it as I feel another heave coming up. My throat feels like it's on fire and my stomach is twisting and turning. I can't hold back a sob as I lean over the bowl, my insides are hurting too much.

"What's wrong with her? What's going on?" I hear one of them ask, my mind too unfocused to recognise them. The next few phrases blur into echoing incoherent murmurs, as if I was hearing them through a thick pane of glass. I go dizzy and light-headed and darkness clouds my vision. The whole world begins to spin and the last thing I recognise is the ceiling lights as I've fallen to the ground. Three faces look down at me, their expressions are full of concern.

–

I wake up with my head rested on comfortable pillows and a thick blanket placed over me. The whole room is eerily quiet, the only light coming from the moon, which is peeking through an open slit in the window blinds. My head feels clear and fine, my stomach is settled too. I push the blanket off of me and look around the room. Where is everyone? I move silently out into the hall and walk into the lounge room, it appears that no one is here. It's then that I hear a familiar and comforting voice.

"Hello, beautiful." Peter's voice rings out. I turn around and see him standing by the windows, the white curtains blowing in the wind by his sides.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you." I say with a sigh.

"Come here." He says. As he's standing in the shadows I can't see his face, the only light that falls on him is on his chest, revealing his T-shirt. He holds his hand out for me and I begin to walk over to him. I stop half way, though, as I remember seeing the pictures of him on the ground.

"Are you cheating on me with Laura?" I ask, standing on the spot.

"Come here, Lena." He says, ignoring my question.

"Why can't you answer the question?" I cross my arms, my suspicion growing. He drops his hand to his side and sighs.

"I'll answer yours if you answer mine." He pauses. "If I asked you to kill Felix- would you do it? If it meant that we could be together?" I feel my breath catch as I consider his question.

"I love you. But I love Felix too." I say.

"I know but how much? You can't have both of us Lena, so if you could only have one who would you choose?" He asks, slowly stepping forward. His face comes into the light and his expression is dark, he's almost unrecognisable. I remain silent as he walks towards me; when he reaches me his puts his arms around me gently.

"You want to know why I cheated?" He asks, pulling a dagger from his pocket and holding it to my chest. I look at the knife hesitantly and slowly nod.

"Because you used to be powerful. You used to have self-control and self-respect- but now," He tips to dagger up so it's pointed at my heart, the tip digging into my skin, "If I were to thrust this knife forward, you would let me. You're just that pathetic." I look down at the knife and that's when it clicks in my head. This isn't real. It's so obvious I almost feel ashamed that I didn't realise it. I look up at this Peter that I'm dreaming of and suddenly it feels like everything is falling around me, like I'm waking up. In my subconscious I hear noises and someone breathing, which just echo into this dream world. My concentration is brought back when Peter talks.

"You're figuring it out, aren't you? I have to say I'm proud- my girl is strong." He places a hand on my cheek and I push him off me after taking a hold of the knife.

"Who are you?" I hold the knife to his throat. He holds his hands up in defence but keeps his sly smile, saying nothing.

"I know you're not Peter- you know how?" I tilt my head, still holding the knife.

"How?" He asks.

"Because Peter knows that you need to go around or through the ribcage to reach the heart easier." As soon as I say it I shove the knife toward him in an upwards motion and Peter continues staring down at me without so much as a flinch.

Suddenly I'm brought back to reality and the feeling of unease in my head and stomach come back. I'm once again in the bed but now I can see the shadow of a person standing at the end of my bed. The seem to be just standing there... staring at me. I keep my breathing steady and, with the hope that they can't see my face clearly, I look around for a weapon. The closest thing to me is a glass ashtray on the bedside table, which I reach for and throw in one quick motion. It travels towards the figure before I hear it crash on the floor. I sit up and press my back to the headrest of the bed in panic and abruptly the door is swung open and the light is flicked on. The shadow disappears as the room lights up and I see Felix at the door in jeans and without a shirt.

"Lena, what's going on?" he asks in a panic. My breathing is heavy and my face, back and palms feel slick with sweat.

"There was someone in here." I say, gathering the blanket in my fists and staring at the end of the bed.

"No one is here but us, Lena." He says, hovering by the doorway with unease. I feel something drag against my wrist and notice that the bracelet has been placed on me. With good reason, I suppose- I think I'm going crazy. Felix seems to notice the fear on my face as he walks over to the bed and pulls me into a hug. It's when I'm pressed against him that I notice my whole body is shivering, even though I'm burning up under these covers.

"It's alright." He says, rubbing his hand along my back as he holds me.

"Maybe Li was right. Maybe we should take you to the hospital." He says is lightly in my ear.

"Is everything okay? What was that noise?" I hear Li ask from the doorway. I look over at him and his eyes widen.

"Lena, you look worse than you did before. How are you feeling?" He asks. Felix releases me from his hug and rests back on the bed.

"I just-" I run my hand over my forehead and my stomach turns. "I think I just need a bath" I say, moving my legs out from under the blanket.

"Shall I join you?" I hear William call from the hallway. My feet meet the carpet and I pause, looking up at the two men staring at me intently.

"William, get in here." I call. He appears at the door next to Li shortly with a look of surprise on his face.

"Oh, finally." He smiles and begins to walk toward me.

"No, I mean-" I shake my head, sitting back on the side of the bed. "This has to stop. With all of you." I look at each of them. "I don't know the full story behind what's going on with Peter and I know that each of you have your own feelings for me." The men exchange glances and I place my hand on my stomach. "William, it's time for you to go back to Cassiopeia. You need to tell her that I know about everything and that she'd better get a mobile phone so I can speak to her. You also need to tell her that I'm in danger." I finish, looking up at him. Many thoughts seem to be running through his head but eventually her nods.

"As much as I'd rather stay here with you, I probably should fill Cassiopeia in on this. I'll go get my things and get on the next flight." He nods, walking over to me. He places a swift kiss on my forehead and leaves the room. I can't help but smile to myself. William is many things, but I never expected him to be the one that actually listens to me, even when I'm sick. I'm left looking between Felix and Li, before finally settling on the former.

"I'm still angry at you for not being truthful. But I need your help to find the witch coven." Li slowly nods after I say it and Felix sits up to interject.

"You're actually going there?" He furrows his eyebrows, unpleased.

"If I don't confront them now then when? And what if this sickness just gets worse and worse? They caused it, I'm sure they can reverse it." I move to stand again and Felix grabs my arm.

"And what about me? Are you going to send me away too?" He asks, looking up at me with that adoring look I just can't handle.

"If you're going to come with us it will only be because _you_ chose to come. Not because Peter or I want you to." I say.

"But do you want me to?" He asks. I become very aware of his hand in mine and I have to pull my arm from his grasp. I look over to the doorway to see that Li has clearly had enough and chosen to go back to sleep. Which has left Felix and I alone. I have to remind myself to be ruthless, to be the girl in my dream who wouldn't allow herself to be defeated by love. I place my hand on his chin and slightly narrow my eyes.

"Watch it, Felix. I'm practically pre-engaged to your best friend." I say it sternly but he remains unmoving from the bed.

"I'm started to feel less on his side and more on yours. If he actually did cheat on you, which wouldn't be the first time by the way, then I think he's and idiot for taking what he had for granted. You deserved to be loved completely and wholly- even when you're ill." He takes my hand again and stands as he places it over his heart.

"I suppose I'm weak and pathetic this way- but no matter whose arms you choose to lie in, you'll always have a place here." He says it slowly and purposefully and I feel my lips go dry. I know it's going to take something harsh to stop him from kissing me, and saying it would be a lie that hurts both of us, but I know it's best. I almost cry right as I say it so I snatch my hand away from him and do it quickly.

"You're right. That _is _pathetic." It comes out with venom and I don't allow myself to see his reaction. I just rush for the en suite and shut the door behind me. I walk over to the mirror and can't stop myself from letting out a small sob. I look at myself in the mirror; I'm all dishevelled and pale and I know that if Felix said that while I look like this, then he must mean it. Oh Lena, why can't your heart and head settle on one?


	7. Chapter 7 - A Fiancé's Betrayal

**Chapter ****7**

I'm still standing and looking at myself in the mirror when the door opens and Felix walks in purposefully. I open my mouth to protest his intrusion but he walks right up to me and puts his arms around me. It takes me by surprise and everything I have to say just floats away. I feel his lips press against my forehead and my hands, which are pressed against my sides curl into reluctant fists. I'm anxious that he might kiss me but I'm even more worried that he won't.

"Nice try, ice queen." He says in a small voice. "I can tell when you're lying, though." I bite my lip and move my eyes to the ground, so that when he lets me go and steps back to look at me, he can't see my expression. He turns around and shut the door behind him after he leaves the room. I stand processing this for a moment before slowly drawing a bath and undressing to step into it. I wash my hair and body first and spend what feels like hours just sitting and thinking. My stomach is beginning to settle and my head feels much clearer. Every now and then I add more soap product and hot water to create bubbles. Eventually my mind clears of thought and becomes calm and I rest my head back to welcome sleep.

A sharp knock on the door makes me jump to conciousness and I notice that the room is filled with a light blue light to indicate dawn. My bath water has gone still and tepid and my fingers are wrinkled from the liquid.

"Lena, I've made arrangements but it's time to move." Li's voice rings out.

"One moment!" I call, jumping from the bath and wrapping the bathrobe around my body. I wrap a towel around my hair and open the door to the master bedroom; which is now empty. A backpack is resting on the bed and it appears fully packed and stocked with clothes of mine from the estate. I dress quickly and apply minimal make-up. There is some sort of vitamin drink on the table for me so I crack open the lid and drink down it's contents, it's refreshing and helps clear my head. Placed next to the drink was the file Li showed me before. I cautiously flick open the front page and am confronted with the pictures of Peter kissing Laura. I bring the pictures to my hands and look over them curiously, studying them in detail. Laura's dressed in some sort of evening gown and Peter's in a suit, clearly this was part of Peter's attempt to find a way to recover his powers; they're possibly undercover. The pictures are made up of different shots of their kiss and the moments leading up to and after it. Laura has walked to Peter's side and has tugged on his sleeve to make him face her. She says something and looks around before moving her mouth to his. Peter seems to stay still the whole time and while they do it an old rich-looking couple approaches them. Peter talks to them while keeping an arm wrapped around Laura's waist. I put them back on the dresser and lay them side by side to observe them. Something about them feels off, their behaviour reminds me of the way I had to act around Li. It's then that I notice something odd about the pictures. In the very last one while Peter is talking to the couple Laura is looking elsewhere. She's not looking at the people or Peter but in the direction of the camera, in fact, it's almost like she can see the photographer. I'm not sure and I have to study it closely to notice it but it does provoke suspicion.

"What are you thinking?" I hear Felix ask from the doorway. It seems that he's been watching me for more than just a moment but I refuse to look at him just yet.

"Tell me again how you and Laura met." I say, putting away all the photos except for the last one.

"Why does it matter?" I can tell from the tone in his voice that he clearly doesn't want to talk about his relationship with Laura. I turn to look at him.

"It might not matter but I asked you to." I fix my eyes on him as I say it and he shifts his weight to his other leg nervously.

"After we left Neverland I met her in this world at a party. She seemed to know a little about magic and the life I came from so it was easy to talk to her. Pan encouraged me to get close to her, so I did. I guess I just missed being intimate with someone... I missed you." His eyes meet mine as he says it and this time I'm the one who looks away nervously. "Anyway, that's when Pan showed me the engagement ring and then Laura found it and that whole mess started." He shakes his head.

"By 'that whole mess' do you mean when you proposed?" I narrow my eyes slightly as I ask.

"Don't you remember me telling you? I never actually proposed, I just kept the ring. When Laura found it in my bag she assumed I was going to ask her and everything moved so quickly. I thought I had lost you so I didn't bother to stop it, I just wanted something real." I lean against the wardrobe and am about to continue our conversation when I hear Li coming up the hall.

"It's time to leave, you two." Li says as he walks in the room. I look up at Li but I don't move from my spot.

"Li, how did you know that Peter was the one I was seeing?" I ask him. He is beginning to zip up my backpack but stop when I ask, before looking at me with confusion.

"I never said his name while we were together, all of the gifts he sent me were from 'P'. So how did you know?" I raise an eyebrow and move to my feet, away from the wardrobe.

"I saw you with him at the ball." He says it with a shrug, "Come on, we have to go." He picks up my backpack and walks quickly out of the room with it. I move after him swiftly but Felix stops me at the door.

"What's going on?" He asks, clearly he can tell something isn't right. I shrug his hand off of my shoulder and continue walking after Li, implying that I'm still trying to figure this out.

"Peter wasn't with me at the ball. I only found him later." I call this to him when I reach the lounge but Li seems to be busy organising our bags. He seems to ignore what I've said and only responds to me when I walk right up to him and stand in front of him with folded arms and an annoyed expression.

"What aren't you telling me?" I tilt my head as I ask. He sighs and rolls his eyes.

"Lena, I must've found out at a different occasion then, just drop it." As soon as he says it he tries to walk away so I grab him by the arm and force him to face me. I focus on our eye contact and begin to feel that tug on my heart that alerts me that I'm using my charm. He doesn't respond how a normal man would, though, as he simply blinks and pushes my hand off his arm.

"You know that won't work on me- what are you doing?" He steps away from me and as soon as he turns around, Felix is standing there looking stern and bulky. Li is taken by surprise and clearly seems intimidated by the defined muscles in Felix' arms. The contrast between the two is made more apparent by the lean, skinny stature Li has. He sighs and turns back around to look at me.

"I'm just trying to keep you out of this." When he says it I can tell he's genuine; which just alerts me more because it proves my suspicions that foul play is at hand here.

"Keep me out of what?" I unfold my arms and raise an eyebrow. Li glances back at Felix, who's supporting me in intimidating him, before looking at me with a pleading expression.

"You know something and you're not telling me, Li, what's going on?" I ask again.

"They're not after you. You just keep getting caught in the cross-fire. You've made all the wrong friends in all the wrong places." Li says. This time Felix steps forward with a warning.

"Enough with the cryptics, Gao, is this about the witches?" Felix asks. It's then that the elevator suddenly opens and three of Li's bodyguards hurry in, their guns drawn and aimed at us. One of them fires two shots at Felix and he goes down, crashing against the dining table as he falls to the floor. Panic rises within me and it feels like ten different voices are telling me to turn into the harpy. I rush over to Felix hurriedly and it feels like time has stopped. Somewhere along the seemingly never-ending journey to move over to Felix, Li speaks,

"He's fine, Lena, it's just a tranquilliser." As soon as this processes in my brain I'm already down and kneeling by Felix, who looks asleep on the floor. Everything snaps back to reality and I'm once again aware of the guns aimed at me. I look up at Li as if he's just shot me in the heart and he's looking back down at me sadly.

"You should have just done what I'd asked and you would be happy. I'm just trying to keep you safe, Lena." He says. I hear the click of a gun trigger being pulled and time slows down once again so I can almost hear the tranquilliser dart whizzing through the air. I feel a sharp poke in my arm and I only have enough time to register the sight of the dart sitting in my shoulder before I too, fall to the ground; my senses all going numb. The last thing I remember before waking up is seeing Felix's unconscious face after I've fallen next to him on the ground.


	8. Chapter 8 - Ditching the In-Laws

**Chapter ****8**

The first thing my eyes register after waking up is the afternoon light shining on my face. The bed is large and comfy and a dark red blanket rests over me. I can tell from my view that I'm back at the estate, from the side I'm lying on I can see the large floor-length windows giving a view to the greens and pinks of the cherry blossom garden at the front of the house. At first everything is blurry but as soon as it becomes clear, so does my sense of hearing.

"I'm so sorry for all this- I think you've been drugged enough for one week." Li's voice rings. As soon as I register his voice I attempt to throw myself to my feet, ready to hit him. My body betrays me, however, as it refuses to move as I command it; all that happens is that my legs jerk slightly under the blankets and my hands curl into weak fists.

"Shh, don't try and move. Just let the tranquilliser settle you for a bit longer." Li says, placing a hand on my forehead.

"Get your hand off me." I say it furiously and he appears clearly hurt at my demand.

"Where's Felix?" I ask, trying to move my neck to look around.

"He's safe, I've sent him off to be with the other Lost Boys." He brings up his arm to look at his watch, adding, "He's probably already been on the private jet for about an hour." I try to move my arms again but they feel extremely heavy and refuse to respond. Li watches me struggle and sighs.

"If I tell you everything will you stop trying to get away from me?" He asks. I look up at him and force my expression to soften.

"I'm not sure but it might help." I raise an eyebrow.

"There are powerful people at play here, Lena. And your boyfriend, Pan, has pissed a lot of them off. From what I can gather, the witches have no interest in hurting you but you are directly linked to him. The other night they captured you and injected you with truth serum so that they could find out what you knew, to see if he had really lost his powers or if it was just a ploy." He pauses to make sure I'm still with him and I remain silent. "I got so worried because they didn't check if this was okay with me, buy hurting you they violated the terms of our agreement." I cut him off,

"What terms were there in this agreement?" I ask.

"You don't need to know the logistics of it but ultimately I would help them get to Pan and in return they wouldn't harm you." He looks at me endearingly as he says it.

"So then you lied to me, you do have contact with the witches. You knew all about this all along." I reply.

"Oh, Lena." He rolls his eyes, moving to his feet. "That's what people do in relationships. They lie to protect the one they care about." As he says this he waves his hand and the curtains abruptly close. He then snaps his fingers and the lights flick on, filling the room. I widen my eyes and he looks at me with a bright smile, as if waiting for my amazement at his tricks. Instead I just blink at him and try my hardest not to scowl.

"So not only do you have contact with the witches, you're one of them." I say it dryly.

"I'm a man so I'm called a warlock, actually. I was hoping you would be impressed." He walks back over to the bed to sit down and I force down all the negative things I want to say to him.

"I am impressed, in fact, it's kind of sexy." I say is smoothly and my Veela side makes it easy to make it seem genuine. His eyes light up and he moves to lie next to me.

"What do the witches plan to do with Pan once they get to him?" I ask.

"I don't know, I didn't ask. It's none of my business." He shrugs. I purse my lips and find that I have enough strength to sit up, which I do.

"So they might kill him?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. He looks at me intently without answering but his silence says it all. I sigh and lean against the headrest of the bed.

"So he might already be dead." I shake my head, my lips pressing into a thin line. Li moves his hand over mine.

"For what it's worth, Lena, I am sorry. But what's going to happen to him is his own fault and I won't allow him to bring you down as well." His thumb runs over my hand as he says it but my extremities are still slightly numb and I can barely move them. I look down at him and his eyes are on my hand.

"I think you should kiss me right now, Li." I say it coolly and he looks up at me with wide eyes. He then shakes his head and sits up, looking slightly annoyed.

"No, none of this. I know how Veela are with their games and you're no exception. Lena, I'm not letting you go yet because you'll run. And the safest place for you is right here with me." He says it firmly. I manage to slide my hand over to rest on his and I continue to look at him intently.

"I want to be able move properly so I can get closer to you, not away from you." I raise an eyebrow and smile to him suggestively as I say it. He still seems unsure but he gives himself away when his fingers curl around my hand. I try to lean forward to get closer to him but my body still feels heavy and sluggish.

"You know how I am with my tricks and I know how you are with your surveillance. I know that you know I kissed William. I bet you also know that I left Peter and flew half way across the world to get away from him. Does that sound like someone in love?" I raise an eyebrow and he looks at me, still with an uneasy expression.

"You once said to me that people can change. That they can fall out of love. Do you honestly think that every time you felt love between us that you were alone in it?" I drag the hand that he's holding closer to me so that he leans in. I can tell that I've got him hooked, I just hope that he buys this act. My heart beats heavily in my chest and I'm worried that at any moment he's going to figure it out. It appears I've still got my touch though as he closes the distance between us and gives me a firm kiss, placing his hands on my waist. I bring my hands to his elbows to pull him closer to me and our bodies sink in together. Whether he realises it or not, a firm shock of energy comes from his hands and moves through my whole body; I get my strength back. As soon as I'm able to, I push against him and roll over so I'm on top of him, kissing him quickly and with as much faux passion as I can gather. He sits up so I'm on his lap and I tug at his shirt to pull it off. As soon as he moves his arms off of me to pull the shirt off his face I reach for the lamp from the bedside table and thrust it firmly against his head. He falls back against the headrest with a thunk and slips into unconsciousness. My breathing is heavy as I poke his chest twice to make sure he's out cold. I know my hit wasn't strong enough to do any permanent damage, but he will be knocked out for a few hours. I quickly do up the buttons that Li seems to have undone in our little entanglement and jump off the bed to find my bag. The packed backpack is sitting by a dresser as is my shoes, bot of which I quickly pull on my body. There is a firm knock on the door and I quickly run to hide next to it's frame, where I won't be visible once the door is opened. The men on the other side are talking in Chinese and are clearly startled by the noises they just heard.

"Mr Gao? Mr Gao?" The men call. The door is slowly opened and I allow enough time for them to move through before kicking against the door and knocking over the two men that came in. As soon as they go down I shove the door closed and swiftly lock it to the shouting voices on the other side. The two men that have gone down begin to get back up so I run for the first and jump against his chest before leaping for the second, tackling him to the ground. I'm glad all my combat experience has paid off as I'm able to wrestle the tranquilliser gun from the second bodyguard's hands and shoot both him and his partner. They go down quickly but the door has begun to be banged against, the wood starts to crack and I can tell it's going to burst open shortly. I take the second tranquilliser gun and run for the balcony, the now closed floor-length curtains hiding it's door to any who don't know of it's existence. I'm only just able to lock the balcony door before I hear the main bedroom door break from it's hinges. I estimate that I have about a minute before they realise to check the balcony. I head for the edge to look at how far I have to jump and notice that the two men who are guarding the front door are conversing. One of them responds to the call he gets on his headset, presumably about the problem I've caused, and heads inside the house to join them in finding me. The other begins to pace up and down, beginning a patrol at the front of the house. I hear the balcony windows being tapped against as the guards are trying to find the door but I have to wait until I can manage a tactful landing from the second floor. The guard eventually steps onto the grass below the balcony and I'm able to vault over the balcony railing and fall towards him. I knock him down when I land on him and my legs take only a little of the impact. I roll to my feet and aim my gun at him but find that the fall has already knocked him unconscious. I take a quick look around the area for some sort of transport or if there are other guards but as soon as I hear the balcony door being forced open above me I have to move again. I run for the garage and quickly duck under it's closing door. The three guards that are in there barely have time to register that I've joined them before I shoot all of them with the darts. The two people left standing who I haven't shot are Li's parents who look like they've just returned from going out for the day, hence the car pulling into the driveway. The look at me with a startled expression and I run over to the carport door to lock it. I aim the gun at Li's mother and look at his father.

"How about about a trade?" I ask them, Li's father pulling his wife close to his side. I slip off the engagement ring from my finger and hold it out in offering to Mrs Gao.

"Your ring for the car. Oh, and also your dignity. I don't believe you want 'Prominent Chinese Family's Son Gets Engaged to a Psychopath Who Shot Them' on the headlines?" I raise an eyebrow and Mr Gao looks at me angrily. He tosses the keys to me and I throw the ring over to him. I keep the gun fixed on them while I move round the car to the driver's side and open the door.

"And what of our grandchild?" Mrs Gao asks, looking betrayed.

"Oh drop the act, you know there's no baby. You both hate me- I know you know what I am." I roll my eyes as I say it and the two exchange a glance. Their hurt expressions fade away and are replaced with a look of annoyance.

"I know this has a tracker on it. So tell Li that if I'm followed- I'm going to tell everyone that the Gao family cheats people of their money. You two _know_ how persuasive I can be." I raise my eyebrows and they step away from the car, nodding slowly. Without wasting another moment I slide into the car, force the engine to start and slide the gear into drive. I'm about to drive right through the carport door when I notice that it's being opened for me. I glance back at Mr Gao who has pressed on the remote for it to open.

"Please, not too much damage!" He calls, looking at prized sports car sadly. As soon as there's enough space for me, I accelerate down the drive, leaving the Gao estate in the dust behind me.


	9. Chapter 9 - The Pursuit

**Chapter ****9**

As soon as I'm a good distance away from the estate I head for the city and bring my phone out of my pocket; I dial Felix's number but it rings out. The sky is quickly darkening and I have to flick on the headlights. I scroll through my contact list considering where to begin and when I see William's name I have to wonder if his flight has landed in America yet. I try to call him but again it rings through and I feel even more alone in this. This car is quick and runs smoothly, I can see why Mr Gao liked it so much. Finally on my contact list I see Peter's name and I have to place my phone back in my pocket before I begin to worry about where he is and if they've already gotten to him. I pull over at a bank to withdraw the remainder of the money in my personal account and to get something to eat from the market. My body is running on very little sleep and an empty stomach.

After quickly selecting some sort of chips and an energy drink my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out and to my relief find that William is calling me back.

"Everything okay?" He asks.

"No, as it turns out Li was in on the witches plan and they may have already gotten to Peter." I start heading back to where I parked the car as I talk to him.

"What? Why do they want Pan?" He asks, I hear the sound of people talking hurriedly and an intercom speaking in the background, he must have just got off the plane.

"Well for whatever reason they wanted him all along, apparently he annoyed some of the coven leaders; I really don't know I'm not too clear on it. But the problem is that I don't know if they're out to kill him and Li sent Felix away so I'm alone in a country where I barely understand the language.-" I'm cut off when I get sight of the car across the road and see that there are men in black suits patrolling the area around it, looking in every direction. "And I'm being followed." I add.

"By who? The witches?" William asks. I turn around and head through the busy bustling market, dodging in and around stalls and lanes just in case the men have already spotted me.

"By Li's men. He doesn't like that I've left him. I also kind of knocked him and some of his men out." I turn to look behind me as I talk and I notice some of the bodyguards walking in the market area, they haven't spotted me but they're clearly searching. I break through the opposite entrance and hurry across the busy street, keeping an eye out for a taxi.

"Okay well Li mentioned that the coven is somewhere in the farmlands, so we'll need to find someone who can take you there." William says.

"What if I go back to that opium den I was found in?" I suggest. I round the corner of a building and notice a taxi pulled up at the side of the road. As soon as the previous customer steps out I slide in and take his seat.

"Hang on one second William. What was the address?" I ask, before notifying the driver of the location. The car accelerates ahead and as we drive we pass the street where I left Gao's car. My Veela genes mean that my eyesight is better than a human's and even from this distance I can see the group of men in dark suits still hanging around the car. As we drive past I notice one of the men looking down at a device in his hand and barking orders through an earpiece. He looks up from the device and we almost make eye contact, he knows that I'm getting away. I empty my pockets of the car keys and quickly open the taxi window, dropping the keys on the ground. As soon as I do I see a line of cars behind me drive over and crush them and the man with the device gets an annoyed expression on his face. He throws the device at one of the other men and begins to shout. The other men that were in pursuit of me stop walking and look at each other in confusion. I sit back on the seat to rest and can't help but smile to myself; I've lost them.

William and I converse for a bit longer, he assures me that he's going to talk to Cassiopeia and let her know that I know what she did. He's also going to ask her for help on my behalf so that we can save Peter. He says that as soon as he can get in contact with her he will come back to China to help me, but for now I'm on my own. I sit back against the seat and sigh, my eyelids are heavy and I still feel sore and tired. I would kill for a massage right now.  
>It's when the driver's loud voice makes me jump in surprise that I realise I've fallen asleep on the back seat. I hand him his money and climb out of the cab, looking up and down the street as I do so. I quickly pull out my hoodie from my bag and shrug it on, pulling the hood up to help hide my face. I barely recognise which of the run-down buildings is the one I had to hastily leave that day. I notice some people are sitting around the entrance of one and I slide on my sunglasses and pull out my translator. After finding out the word for opium I approach the people and inquire, noticing the dazed, drug-addled looks on their faces. They exchange glances and shake their heads at each other before shaking their heads at me. I remember Li mentioning how drug use is illegal in China and can result in severe punishment. I bite my lip and gain the attention of one of the men before sliding up my sunglasses to see him properly. I concentrate on our eye contact and feel my vision tunnel like the way it does when I'm using the charm on someone. The man's expression changes to bewilderment and enthralment. I ask him about opium again in Chinese and the man points in the direction of one of the buildings without taking his eyes off mine. I dig the change out of my pocket and hand it to him before walking over to inspect the building. I don't recognise the front but as soon as I step in the door the faded and torn red wallpaper and the stained wood of the hallway bring a hint of familiarity.<p>

"You're back!" A voice says from a doorway. I look over and notice the man that was chasing after me last time I was here is smiling at me. I take off my sunglasses and hood and nod to him.

"You recognise me?" I tilt my head as I ask.

"I always recognise a Veela." He says, tapping his nose and adding, "It's the smell." I widen my eyes at him and he simply chuckles. He gestures for me to follow him and I do accordingly. He leads me to an odd back room with storage boxes piled up in the corners. He pulls the corner of a box to the side and whole stack swings easily with it, revealing a doorway which hides a staircase that leads to a basement. I poke my head in the doorway and smell the strong fumes of a cigarette smoke and incense.

"No, I don't want that. I just wanted to ask you some questions." I say, backing away from the staircase. The man nods to me assuringly and gestures to the staircase.

"You want to talk; let's talk in my place of business." He moves to stand at the top of the staircase and waits for me, expecting me to co-operate. I sigh and consider my limited options, taking a breath of fresh air before walking to descend the staircase. I hear him shut the door behind us and look ahead of me to greet a medium sized room filled with sofas and cushions. There are bodies lazing around and the people are either chattering in hushed, slow conversations or seem to be resting with a look of contentment or ecstasy on their face. The smell is pungent and even just breathing in the air leaves me light-headed. The man directs me to sit on a couch and I do as instructed, looking around at the nearby people. The man sits down opposite me and offers me a cigarette, which I decline, before lighting one for himself.

"I wanted to know if you knew who it was that brought me here." I tell him. He rubs his chin as he looks at me.

"I know who it was that took you from here." He says after a moment of pondering.

"Okay, but-" I have to pause to sigh, one of the nearby men has taken a look at me and has crawled over to place his head on my knee to rest. I push him off of me gently and continue. "Do you have any cameras here or something? Anything that can tell me something about the people that brought me here?" Even to my own ears I can hear the pleading in my voice. I can't help but worry for Peter, not knowing where he is is killing me. A woman with a tray of assorted cigars, pipes and needles comes over to us in offering. The man picks up a needle and offers it to me. I furrow my eyebrows at him and have to clench my knuckles. I shake my head and he offers it again.

"I insist. Free." He says. I reach forward and grip onto his wrist, forcing him to look at my face in confusion. I ensure our eye contact and attempt to use my charm but he doesn't seem to be affected by it. Either the dulling of my senses is causing this or he's part warlock, either way I need to resort to another method. I tighten my grip on his wrist and twist it slightly; I feel the tension I'm causing within his wrist and the man drops the needle and crinkles his face up in pain. I stop twisting as at this point he's got a sprain and any further it will be broken.

"Tell me something useful. How do you know what I am?" I order.

"Across the road. Ask for Chao-xing, she will have the answers you seek." He says it with pain on his face and I release him. As soon as I do he retracts his hand and rubs it tenderly. I nod to him and pull on my backpack, standing from the couch and heading for the staircase. Once I leave the building I step outside into the dark street and am greeted with the first few drops of rain. It picks up quickly and heavily and I have to run across the street to avoid being soaked. I knock on the door of what appears to be a herb shop and see an elderly Chinese lady peeking through the front-window at me. She doesn't budge from her spot inside so I dig my hand into my bag and show her a portion of the large amount of money I have. She disappears from the window and opens the door to me, eyeing the money suspiciously.

"I'm here to see Chao-xing." I say. She then moves her eyes to my face and looks at my features suspiciously.

"We're closed." She says, her accent heavy. I peek at the shop beyond the door and notice an old cash register as well as shelves of herbs and stones and candles.

"It's urgent. I can pay you." I reason with her, still holding the money in my hand. I suspect that she, too, knows who and what I am and if she's a witch like I suspect- she probably doesn't want me asking for favours. She continues to look at me without moving and I sigh, bringing more of the money out to add to the stack. She slowly steps aside and allows me to enter her shop, which I do so quickly to escape the flicks of rain landing on me. I look around at the shelves of items and glance to a curtain-covered archway near the register.

"What do you want?" The woman asks, her tone still sharp.

"Yesterday I was taken to that building over there-" I point in the direction across the street, "And I was drugged by some witches. I want to know who they were." I say to her, holding out the money. She reaches out to take the money but I move it to my chest, away from her grasp.

"First answers, then you get your money." I warn.

"Strange questions coming from the wife of a powerful warlock. The very same warlock who could destroy my livelihood if he knew I helped you. Money first, then I will give you answers." She says, not responding to the cold look I'm giving her. I look around the shop for a moment in consideration, how do I know she's not just pretending to be a witch to sell her products? The woman seems to predict the reason for my hesitation and waves her hand, the money flying from my grip and to her hand. I stare at her wide-eyed and she waves her hand again, opening the curtains to reveal a crystal-ball sitting on a table.

"Come, I will give you answers." I look over at the table and jump when my phone buzzes in my pocket. I bring out my phone and look at the screen. Peter's name lights up the screen and I don't hesitate to press answer.

"Peter?" I ask, I can hear the worry in my voice.

"Lena?" It sounds like he hesitates when saying my name, "Stop looking for me." He finishes.


	10. Chapter 10 - Crystal Ball

**Chapter ****10**

As soon as he says it I have to take a moment to make sure I really heard it.

"What?" I ask.

"I said stop looking for me." He says again, sternly this time.

"Peter, what's going on?" I look up and notice that the old lady is still looking at me with an unconcerned expression; The stack of money still in her hand. I hear a scuffle on the other end and voices murmur.

"Peter?" I ask.

"You have to promise me that you will leave this alone. Go back to Cassiopeia or Gao, I don't care- just stop trying to find me." He says. I'm about to argue back but the line is cut off and he ends the call. I stare at my phone before glancing at the lady.

"Is there a problem?" She inquires. I bite my lip and look back at my phone.

"No." I say with assurance, walking ahead to sit at the table with the crystal ball. The woman walks in after me and joins me at the table.

"Can you find someone for me? I need to know their location." I drop my backpack beside my leg as I ask. The woman folds the money away and places it in the pocket of her dress.

"Do you have something of theirs I can use to help me?" She asks. I move my hand to the front of my collar and curl my fingers around the silver chain that hangs around my neck.

"I have a gift that he gave me." I say, adding, "It has been in his possession for a long time previously." I drag the necklace up to free the silver-lined shell pendant with the inscription 'P & L' on the back. The woman nods to it and holds out an open palm.

"It will do." She says. I undo the necklace and hand it over to her. She places it on the table and turns to the shelf behind her to grab some of the herbs and powders as well as a large map book.  
>"Somewhere in this country, I assume?" She asks, flipping through the pages.<p>

"Yes, I think so. We could try, anyway." I say, leaning forward on my seat. She lays the book out so that the large map is visible before gripping the necklace and rubbing the powder and herbs over it. She begins some sort of quiet chant to herself, closing her eyes and focusing on covering the pendant in the ingredients. She then releases the pendant and holds the necklace by the chain. The powder and herbs seem to disappear in a cloud of purple smoke and the pendant swings in a circle over the map. I keep my eyes fixed on it while the woman continues to chant. The necklace chain then suddenly straightens itself out and the pendant falls firmly on the map like a rock sinking to the floor of the ocean. It's sits at an angle and the pendant has fallen on a specific location on the map. The woman opens her eyes and slightly widens them upon seeing the location the pendant is pressing against.

"I see." She says. I look at her and study her expression, making a mental note of the location on the map.

"That's where the coven is, isn't it?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. The woman looks up at me suspiciously and moves her hands to the sides of the book. I notice that's she's about to close it so I quickly dart my hand out to the page and stop her from doing so.

"There was a mistake, you have to leave now." She says sternly, trying to pull the book to her and out of my grasp. I give her a cold look and yank the book out of her hands.

"I don't think so." I say, ripping the page from the book and shoving it in my pocket. The woman throws the pendant at me and I catch it quickly.

"Get out of my shop." She says, her voice rising to a shriek. She brings up her hand as if ready to slap me and a dark cloud begins to form in her palm.

"You do any damage to me and Mr Gao will destroy you." I say in warning, quickly pulling my phone from my pocket. She drops her hand and looks at me angrily. A sudden loud banging on the front door makes us both jump. I can make out the shapes of a group of people, probably men, in dark suits. I take a quick look around for a back exit and can see only a window in a kitchen adjoined to this room. The woman continues to glare at me and the banging on the door continues as well as some shouting in Chinese.

"You'd better get that, seems important." I say, slowly reaching down to pick up my backpack. As soon as the woman turns away to walk to the front door I dart for the kitchen and thrust open the window. I quickly slide through the open space, incredibly grateful that I can fit, and hear the door being forced open. It's still pouring down rain outside and I have to pull my hood up to try and decrease it's impact on my vision. I hear the men storm into the house in search of me and hastily run through the back alley, not wasting another moment. As I run through the alleys there are some people sitting around talking and others taking out trash who I have to dodge and avoid running into. I run for a while and travel a few blocks before the voices of the shouting bodyguards soon reach me. I leave the alley I'm in and end up running onto a busy road where I almost get taken out by a car which screeches to a stop. The car hood knocks into my leg and I fall to the ground. I land on my side and the driver of the car steps out and starts shouting at me both in worry for my injury and in annoyance that I jumped in front of his car. I quickly jump to my feet and feel a shock of pain run along my leg. The driver gets a glimpse of my appearance and his annoyance instantly fades away as he moves to my side; I glance back at the alley I came from. At the very end I see the bodyguards notice me and begin to run for me. The driver of the car has placed a hand on my arm and is talking to me worriedly while dialling a number on his phone. I don't know what exactly it is that he wants but he's slowing me down, so I shove him off of me and dart across the street to duck into a busy restaurant.

A female hostess is standing near the entrance with menus and she looks surprised at my sudden appearance. She then smiles at me, offering me a menu. I look behind me to see that the guards are still following me so I take a menu and rush into the restaurant. I hear the woman calling out for me in protest so I disappear into the kitchen at the back. Where I almost run into a waiter carrying a stack of plates. The chef's and cleaners look at me in surprise as I run through the kitchen so I hurry to locate a back door. One of the waiters grabs me by the arm and looks down at the leg I've been limping on. He points to it as he says something in Chinese and I try to shrug him off of me.

"I don't understand you, I'm sorry I have to go." He tightens his grip on me and I have to grip onto his wrist and twist it to make him let me go. He shrinks back in pain and I jump away from him.

"I'm sorry." I call to him over my shoulder, running for the back door. As soon as I burst out the back I run straight into the bodies of the men in suits standing there waiting for me. They grip onto my arms and I kick against them trying to get them off of me. As soon as my sore leg connects with one of the men another shock of pain runs through it. I let out a shriek and one of the men picks me up and shoves me over his shoulder.

"Get off!" I shout at him, banging against his back. I wipe the rain from my eyes and focus enough to notice that there are three of them, the other two have taken positions at the rear and front of the one holding me. We leave the alley and walk up to a black car that's parked on the side of the road. I continue to kick and fuss in the man's arms and the door of the car is opened before I'm shoved into the back seat. I sit up to shout at the man who's placed me in the car and he shuts the door in my face. I pull against the car handle and continue to shout profanities. I can't believe this is happening. I throw myself against the seat and feel pain in my leg once again. I feel my eyes swell up with tears and I look over at the two people in the driver's seat and passenger seat. The driver is wearing a hat as he usually would but something seems odd about the bodyguard in the passenger seat. His shoulders are slumped and his arms dangles at his side lazily. The car jumps to acceleration and I'm thrown back against the seat again. It's when I sit up to get a better look at the bodyguard that the driver speaks in a very familiar voice.

"I'd buckle up if I were you." He says. I look over at the driver wide-eyed and see blonde tufts of hair poking out from under his hat. Felix looks at me with a smile and abruptly pulls up to the side of the road before leaning over to open the passenger door and pushing out the unconscious man onto the pavement. As soon as the guard is out we speed off and I climb over to the passenger seat and lean over to kiss Felix on the cheek.

"I don't know how you did this but I really needed you. Thank you." I say, looking at him with a bright smile. He smiles widely back to me and gives my hand a squeeze before looking back to the road. I bring the map out of my pocket and unfold it, marking where the pendant fell. I hand it over to Felix and he nods, understanding where we need to go. I lean over to grab my bag from the back seat and pain sears in my leg. I groan in pain and move my hands to hold my thigh where it hurts.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Felix asks, suddenly worried. I bring my hands away from my leg to see that my hands are now painted red.

"Jesus Christ, Lena, you're bleeding." He says, putting on his indicator and moving to pull over. I place my hand on the wheel and swerve us back onto the road. The cars behind us honk and Felix swears.

"Don't stop! The car has a tracker, they'll just catch up to us." I tell him.

"How did that happen?" He asks, alarm in his voice.

"I fell over." I say with a sigh, pulling my bag to my lap.

"On what, glass?" He asks.

"Calm down, I'll bandage it up." I say, pulling out medical supplies from my bag. I unzip my jeans and begin to wiggle out of them.

"What are you doing?" Felix asks, looking confused and slightly on edge.

"I need to get to my thigh, don't look if you're uncomfortable." I say, raising an eyebrow. He goes silent for a moment before murmuring under his breath,

"I'm not uncomfortable."


	11. Chapter 11 - A Rune Carving

**Chapter ****1****1**

When I inspect my leg I find that the car that hit me caused some bruising and made small cuts in my skin. I place disinfectant on the cuts before bandaging them and looking over to Felix, who's eyes are fixed on the road ahead. I slide my jeans back up and fasten the zip and button.

"Hungry?" Felix asks.

"Starved." I nod, leaning back on the seat. We go through the drive-though of a fast food place and order meals. We pull over on the side of the road and Felix climbs under the car to find the tracker while I walk around to the front to look under the hood.

"Got it." Felix calls, getting up and throwing away the tracker. We climb back in and quickly drive away, beginning our meals in silence. Once I finish I put the rubbish in the back seat and lean my seat back to rest.

"How did you do it, anyway?" I ask, closing my eyes.

"It was the noises of the plane that woke me up. They had me on the seat inside and mustn't have expected me to wake up so early. It wasn't that hard to get a hold of one of their tranquilliser guns and take their car. I grabbed one of their earpieces and figured that they were after you. How did you get this?" He taps the map on the dashboard.

"I stole it from an old lady." I mumble it and smile at Felix's chuckle.

–

We drive along with the radio on and I rest my eyes, occasionally drifting in and out of sleep. I offer to take over driving but Felix remains adamant the whole drive. I wake up when we come to a full stop and Felix unbuckles himself from the seat.

"We're not too far. I'm getting supplies, got any money?" I nod and point to the backpack at my feet. He grabs some of the cash and closes the door. I drift back to sleep until he comes back, opening my door. He catches me by surprise and I sit up quickly at the sound. He's already leaned in and we almost head butt each other. I gasp at our faces just inches from each other and he raises his eyebrows in surprise.

"I just needed more money." He says, one of his hands on the bag by my side. My heart beats fast in my chest and I can smell his pleasant scent. Felix slowly moves his hand from the bag and places it on my cheek gently. I lean back against the seat and bite my lip, knowing that this is bad; And what's about to happen is even worse. My heart, however, aches and I find myself placing my hand over his on my face. He leans closer to me and our lips meet, slowly at first and then with more pressure. His other hand moves to my waist and I press my body closer to his, deepening our kiss. I move my hands up to his hair and we pull away for a moment to breath heavily, looking at each other. He moves in to kiss me again and I allow him, by now he's kneeled half in the car and half on the ground outside and our bodies are close. His hand slides down to my thigh and I let out a gasp of pain as it runs over my bandage; which causes him to quickly jump off of me in panic.

"Sorry- did I?-" He stutters, looking down at where my bandage is with worry on his face. I keep my eyes on him.

"I'll go-" He steps back out of the car and hits the back of his head on the door frame. I sit forward quickly to check if he's okay and he rubs the back of his head while looking at me with an odd expression; he looks guilty. I gulp and silently hand him my backpack. He takes it from me and hurriedly turns to walk back into the small shopping complex he came from. As soon as he's out of sight I pull my door shut and look at myself in the mirror. I run my hands through my hair and try to calm my breathing. I make eye contact with myself in the mirror again and curse at the judgemental eyes looking back at me. I know I can't handle the awkwardness of the conversation to come so I slide into the back seat and feign being asleep for when Felix returns.

When he does come back to the car I hear him place the new supplies on the passenger seat along with my backpack. He pauses for a moment and I have to fight the urge to peak and see what he's doing. I wish I had fought harder because when I do open my eyes I find that he's staring right back at me. We both go silent and he blinks at me for a moment before turning around and starting the engine. I rub my eyes in frustration and bury my face into the leather seat. For the rest of the drive I I keep quiet in the back seat and Felix says nothing from the front.

–

I'm lying on my back and staring at the stars when Felix stops the car and clears his throat.

"We're here." He says. I sit up and look over at him. He has the map in his hand and we're stopped by a road sign. I look around us and through the darkness I see nothing but a large area of rice paddies.

"So, what now?" I ask, looking over at him. Felix is already looking at me and when our eyes meet he gulps. I can tell he's wondering how I meant that, and if I was referring to what we had already done. I turn away from him and step out of the car to look around; Felix does the same.

"I remember hearing that there was one of those protection spells around it. We're both used to magic so I suppose we'll just split up and see if we feel anything." I say, walking around to the passenger side of the car and grabbing my backpack.

"Okay, but-" He pauses and I turn to look at him. "-Just... stay close, okay?" He says.

"I can take care of myself, you should know that by now." I roll my eyes at him and walk off, trying to hide the slight limp I walk with. I continue walking with purpose and within a few minutes I hear Felix running up behind me. I stop walking and turn to him.

"What is it? Did you find it already?" I ask.

"No I just figured that when the farmers work on these paddies they cover every inch of it. If there's going to be a secret witch hide-out they'd probably base it in the forest over there." He nods to the tree line behind me and I can't help but feel embarrassed.

"Good point." I say, without turning back to him. We walk off side by side towards the tree line and neither of us say a word. We begin to walk through the forest when I finally glance over at Felix.

"What supplies did you buy?" I ask. He reaches into his bag and hands me a case of tranquilliser bullets to go with the gun I have in my bag. I take the case and look at it, bringing the gun out of my bag.

"Where did you get these?" I ask with surprise.

"I met a few contacts while I was working with Gao's men. They showed me ways to get a hold of certain items that wouldn't usually be sold in shops." He says. I load more of the bullets into the gun to fill it and smirk.

"They're illegal aren't they?"

"Very." He nods; Reloading his gun with the bullets as well.

"So what else?" I look over at his bag and he stops walking to dig through it.

"More medical stuff and some food." I try to concentrate on the noises around me to see if I can notice anything out of the ordinary. My focus is broken when Felix breaks a twig when he steps towards me.

"What your plan with this anyway?" He asks.

"We're going to storm the castle." I smile, holding the gun up and switching the safety button off.

"Okay, but seriously Lena- What's the plan here? There's a good chance we could be killed."

"Do you remember when Li would be at meetings all day so you, William and I passed the time by playing poker?" I ask, walking ahead to look around.

"Yes, you usually won. To be fair though, it's hard for a man to bluff when you look at him." I turn around to smile at him and he smiles back at me.

"Poker was always my game." I stop walking. "I got the map from a witch who told me that Li is a powerful warlock. I can tell he's the type of person to have some influence both in the oil business and in his family's social circles."

"Li is a warlock? As in an actual magic-wielding male witch?" Felix raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah, he's a pretty good liar too. Anyway, I don't think that these witches are going kill his fiancé." I notice an odd shape carved into the tree I'm standing next to. I walk up to it and trace my finger over the carving, it appears to be some sort of rune.

"This is the guy who you knocked out and whose parents you pointed a gun at- do you really think he still loves you enough to protect you?" He has a smirk on his face as he asks and he joins me by the tree to look at the rune.

"I think you're forgetting how deeply men tend to feel for me." I say it jokingly but notice that Felix has taken another step towards me.

"I think I have a pretty good understanding." He says, slowly moving closer to me. His fingertips brush against mine on the tree and his face is close enough that I can smell his breath. I look up at him and inhale slowly, feeling my chest constrict as his lips draw closer to mine. Then suddenly I hear something odd near me.

"Do you hear that?" I ask, breaking the silence and causing Felix to snap his head up to attention. He furrows his eyebrows and slowly nods.

"Sounds like... flickering flames." He says it with curiosity and we both look around. I notice another tree near us with a similar carving on it- another rune. I step towards the other tree and that's when a light pops up in my peripheral. I look over at it and am taken aback when I realise I hadn't noticed the large cave entrance sitting among some rocks.

"You see this, right?" I ask Felix, my eyes wide.

"See what?" He hurries to my side and steps back when he notices the torches hung on the outside rocks of the entrance.

"I think we found it." He says. We look at each other and worry crosses Felix's face once again. I slide my hand down to his and he grips onto mine, squeezing it lightly.

"We'll be fine. We'll just go in there, get Peter and get out. Simple." I smile half-heartedly to him.

"It's not that I'm worried about." He says.

"What is it then?" I tilt my head.

"I worried about what will happen between us after we get Pan out. And the fact that that's my biggest worry right now just makes me feel guilty- because Pan is like my brother." I consider this and look to the ground out of guilt. If I were asked to choose between them I still don't have a clear answer. All I know is that it's time to prioritise; and getting Peter to safety is at the top of the list. I move my hand out of Felix's and place both hands on my gun.

"Let's just make sure he's okay- alright?" I ask, turning to look at Felix. His expression quickly changes and all emotion fades away. He grips his gun expertly and lowers his posture to begin walking with stealth. He nods to me and starts to move to the entrance; as I look at him I can't help but be reminded of a soldier.


	12. Chapter 12 - The Shackles

**Chapter ****1****2**

We move down through the cave entrance quickly and quietly. Once we reach the landing we stay in the shadows and Felix leans ahead to peek around the area. He holds up four fingers then drops two then points over to my side. I nod, understanding that he's indicated that there are four people in total in the area and two are over by my side. He counts down from three quietly and we step out, aiming our guns and pulling the triggers. I hit the two on my side and their bodies drop to the ground roughly. I hear two more bodies drop and notice that Felix, too, has hit his targets. Felix moves ahead and I move behind him, checking behind us. Felix holds closed fist up to stop me from walking and I look around the corner to see a man in a robe standing with his back to us. There's only this man in the corridor so Felix moves up behind him, grabs him around the neck while holding a hand over his mouth and squeezes his neck firmly. He puts the gun to the man's back and shoots, causing the man to fall into a heap on the ground. We begin to move down to corridor, keeping close to the walls. Felix suddenly grabs me and pulls me into a long alcove in the wall. He flattens his back against the alcove wall and pulls me close to his side so we're shrunk back in the shadow. He's peering out at the corridor beside us when I see two more people in robes walking hurriedly past us. I follow the two with my eyes and bring my gun out to aim at them. Felix grips my gun wrist and shakes his head, moving my wrist to rest against his chest. I look over again to the corridor to notice that another man is yet to hurry past us. The three seem to have noticed the man crumpled up on the floor so Felix pulls out his gun to aim at them and I do the same, we pull our triggers and Felix quickly takes out the third. Felix rushes out to stand near them and I follow quickly on his heel. He's looking down at the unconscious bodies as he reloads the bullets in his gun. He looks up at me and raises his eyebrows as if questioning something. I look down at the bodies and notice that there is a woman and man about the same height and size as Felix and I. I nod to him and we hastily pull the bodies aside to hide them in a nearby storage closet. I glance around the cave-like area and notice that it's furnished with tables and antique pots and sculptures.

Felix and I quickly undress the man and woman of their dark cloaks and slide them on our own bodies. I bring out a dagger from my bag and hide my backpack behind one of the boxes of empty vials in the closet. Felix brings his hood up and it casts shadows on his face so he's almost unrecognisable. I smile at the blonde tufts that stick out at the sides and reach forward to tuck them back behind his ears. He takes my hand as I do and looks down at me intently. He then moves his hands to pull my hood up to rest on my head. I reload my gun and hide it, as well as the dagger, in the folds of my cloak before falling in step at Felix's side. We walk down the corridor and stop when it breaks off into two other corridors.

"Left or right?" I whisper to him. We look to noises at the left to see that more people in cloaks are on the move. In fact, they're running right for us. I look at Felix with worry and he pulls me to stand close to him. I slide my hand into my robe and curl my fingers around my gun. Felix shakes his head at me sternly before moving me so my back is pressed against the wall. I look at him in surprise while I try and figure out his plan and he quickly wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a firm kiss. I stand completely still in shock and to my surprise find that most of the people in cloaks just run right past us, except for one man who tugs on Felix's arm.

"Stop messing around, they've arrived. You two come with me." The man says in a gruff voice. He gives us both a push and Felix takes his arms off of me to walk with the man as instructed. I take a place at Felix's side and look over at him with wide-eyes. His expression remains calm and controlled and I feel slightly jealous that I can't stop myself from being completely on-edge.

"They've taken out our people at the entrance so I want more people in with the prisoner." The man says. We're lead to a darker area of the cave system where the doors are replaced with iron slabs with bars. As we pass the barred doors I hear a shimmer coming from them and a slight blue hue dances around the bars. The man stops in front of one of iron doors and waves his hand over the lock. The door swings open and we walk into a small dark room with three people in cloaks looking at us intently. At the end of the room stands a brunette with his hands constricted in chains which are attached to the roof. There are shackles on his ankles as well and his shirt has been removed. The bareness of his chest reveals bleeding cuts and bruises and his head is bowed low in exhaustion and pain. He doesn't move at the sound of us coming in but the steady rise and fall of his chest indicates that he's awake. I instantly recognise him as Peter and have to fight the urge to run over and pull him into a hug. Upon seeing his friend in a state such as this, Felix also seems to hesitate when his eyes fall on the prisoner. I move my hand into my cloak and my fingers close over my gun. The anger rising in my chest is so powerful that I almost feel the urge to rip off my bracelet and tear the heads off of everyone in here. As soon as the older man turns to leave Felix turns around and shoots him in the back with a tranquilliser bullet. The three other cloaked people jump to action so I fire a shot into one of their chests. Felix has been grabbed by one of the men and thrown to the ground and the one closest to me has pushed me against the wall. From the grunt they make I can tell it's a female. She knocks my gun out of my hand so I swing my fist up to connect with her face. She shrinks back in pain and I run to pull the man off of Felix. When I get to them I notice that Felix's hood has fallen down and his face is revealed; blood is coming from his now-bruised nose. I leap onto the man's back but he's too quick and too strong. He swings me around so I crash into the stone wall and all the air leaves my body. The pain is almost unbearable. I look up and see that the man towering over Felix has a black light coming from his hand. I try to push myself up but the pain takes over and I can't manage to stand. To my surprise, the woman stops walking over to me and has turned her attention to the other two.

"Felix!" She shrieks, sending a black pulse of energy into the other man's back. The man crashes to the ground and Felix is left looking confused and surprised. I take this moment to pull the dagger from my pocket and reach for the woman's leg, yanking her to the ground. I try to ignore my pain as I get in position on top of her and heave my dagger up at the ready, the blade tip pointed at her heart.

"Lena, don't." The croaky, pained male voice doesn't come from Felix but from Peter. I look over at him and he's tipped his head up to look back at me. The woman beneath me slides her hood off her face and I widen my eyes, recognising her as Laura.

"What the hell?" I ask, not moving from my aggressive stance.

"She's pregnant." Peter says.

"You wouldn't kill Felix's baby, would you?" She asks, a hint of smugness in her voice. My mouth gapes open and my eyes go even wider. I look over at Felix and he shares my expression, in fact he looks like he's gone into shock. It feels like the time slows down around us because when more cloaked people pour into the cell with us, their cloaks move as burrs at the side of my vision. I'm picked up off of Laura and she scrambles away from me, moving to aid Felix. The sides of my vision begin to darken and a metallic taste fills my mouth. The last thing I see before passing out is Felix being seized by some of the cloaked people, the same look of shock plastered on his face.

–

"Lena. Lena, wake up." Peter whispers at my side. I blink my eyes open and hear the echo of people talking. I try to move my arms and feel that my wrists are constricted by a cold, hard metal. Suddenly everything speeds up and my full vision and hearing come back to me; and with it comes the panic and pain in my heart. The physical pain, is still there but it's been dulled considerably. I look around to see that I've been kneeled and shackled to the wall and Felix and Peter are in the same state at my sides. Eyes are fixed on us, some in anger and some in wonder. Those that aren't looking at us are looking at two women who are talking to them while sat on expensive looking chairs. One of the women is Chinese and looks similar to the witch I met in the shop opposite the opium den. The other woman looks foreign to China, and from her accent I would judge that she's from America. The latter is speaking,

"I would also like the thank the Chinese sovereign, Jadis, for allowing me and the members of my coven to come and join her court. The one they call 'Pan' has done wrong by us as well and so sharing in the decision for his punishment is truly a pleasure." She says. I study her features and she appears aged and haggard. Her hair looks like it was once black but is now dark grey in colour. She's wearing a red gown with runes on it and many necklaces with odd charms and pieces.

"We aim to always be welcoming of our fellow witch covens, sister Griselda. Shall we begin?" Jadis replies. She has short black hair and is dressed in a similar gown to Griselda's. The difference is that hers is black.

"We will begin with our latest law offenders, please bring the blonde forward." She adds. Felix is dragged away from my side and I look after him helplessly, trying to pull my hands from my shackles.

"You are called Felix, but what is your surname boy?" Griselda asks. Felix looks over at her with contempt but remains silent.

"You will answer our questions or you will be executed without trial." Jadis says sternly.

"Then it will be no different to this! If _this _is a trial then where is my defence?" Felix asks angrily.

"My subject, Laura, has asked to plead for your freedom. Now answer the question." Griselda says. Felix bows his head and pauses before replying.

"A surname is used to link one to a family. My family is with the Lost Boys but ultimately I am alone so I go only by Felix." He says it solemnly.

"Very well then, Felix, we shall begin your trial." Jadis says.


	13. Chapter 13 - The Court

**Chapter ****1****3**

Griselda looks to her side, where I cannot see, as she speaks.

"Laura, my child, come forward." She says. Laura moves to her feet and walks over to bow in front of the two women.

"You've spent too much time around the Veela Queen Cassiopeia, child. No bowing is necessary here, we do not treat our fellow Wiccan as slaves." As soon as Jadis says it I want to walk over and slap her face for speaking that way about my aunt. Instead I settle for a cold look.

"This boy trespassed on sacred land, attacked our own kind and tried to free our prisoner. Why should we let him walk free today?" Griselda asks her. Laura glances over at Felix and he refuses to return the stare.

"I was also told that you incapacitated another to save him. What do you have to say for yourself?" Jadis asks.

"Felix is the father of my child, your highness, I was acting not only out of love but for the well-being of our child. And as Felix is only human the child's genes are predominately Wiccan. I beg you to set him free not for my benefit or for his but for the witch or warlock who is yet to enter our world." Laura places her hand on her belly gently and the women exchange a glance. Griselda speaks next.

"I suppose for the sake of the child we shall consider letting Felix walk. The child _is_ one of our own, after all."

"I would be agreeable to this, as long as the boy offers an apology for his actions. He also must vow to denounce himself as the ally of Pan and claim his loyalty to the witches." Jadis says.

"Go to hell." Felix says roughly. A few people in the crowd murmur and gasp and Laura bites her lip before hurrying over to kneel in front of Felix.

"I'm trying to save you, Felix. Pan is doomed, there's nothing you can do. So cut your losses and man up. You're a father now- you have to reassess your priorities." Laura pauses to glare over at Peter and I before continuing. "You have to forget about them." She finishes. I glare back at Laura before moving my eyes to the back of Felix's head. I still can't believe this, it's all too surreal. Felix slowly twists his body to look at Peter and I. I stay silent and Peter is the one to speak next.

"Felix, you've got someone counting on you now- someone who needs you a lot more than us." He says it seriously and Felix's expression loses it's anger. I blink between the two and Felix moves his eyes over to mine. As soon as our eyes meet I feel a tear roll down my cheek. My heart feels like it's breaking and I have to allow it.

"He's right." I say in a quiet voice. Felix turns around to look in front of him.

"Well?" Jadis asks him.

"I'm not going to give you my loyalty. But I will vow to stand by the child- assuming it _is _mine." He looks up at Laura as he says it. Jadis and Griselda look at each other again and both of them nod.

"We are doing this for you and the child, Laura. But be warned, Felix- if you cross us again, we won't be so lenient next time." Griselda says before adding, "Let him go." A man walks to Felix's side and pulls him to his feet. The man waves his hand over the shackles and they fall to the floor, freeing Felix's hands. Felix turns around to look at Peter and I and his face is pained. I want so much for him to come over and wrap his arms around me in a hug. Instead Laura grips onto his arm and pulls him to walk by her side. He backs away from us while he looks into my eyes sadly. Laura pulls him towards the back of the room and they disappear into the crowd. I see the people parting for them and notice that eventually they reach the back doors, exiting the court room. As they move through the doors they pass another pair of people who are entering. The two that walk in are also in cloaks and so their features are unrecognisable. One of them is a large, bulky man and the other is a slender girl. Jadis talks as I watch the two look around the room.

"Bring the Veela up next." She says. Someone pulls me to my feet and I'm forced to walk a few paces forward before I'm pushed down to kneel in front of everyone like Felix was. When the pain of the movement runs through my body I can't hold back the groan that escapes my lips. I look up ahead of me at the two figures at the very back and find that they both seem to be looking directly at me. The man places his hand on the female's shoulder before walking and pushing his way to the front sternly.

"Lena Flitwick, niece of the Veela Queen Cassiopeia, daughter of the previous Queen, Arabella, and princess of the Veela high-court. You are charged with trespassing, attacking Wiccan-kind and attempting to free our prisoner. How do you plead?" Griselda asks me. I move my eyes over to her and give her a cold stare.

"Guilty." I say it plainly, reaching to my wrists to yank off my bracelet.

"I wouldn't try anything violent, Miss Flitwick, you've been given a temporary rune inscription to prevent you from transforming." Griselda says, nodding to my shoulder. I look down to where she indicated and notice a black tattoo-like rune similar to the one Peter got.

"Her defence?" Griselda adds. I hadn't noticed him sitting there before but Li stands from a seat at her side and looks over in my direction.

"Oh for god's sake," I look from him to the two women. "I'd really rather just be executed." The two women look away from me and widen their eyes. They're not doing this in response to what I said, however, they seem to be looking at the man who's stepped to the front to join us. I look at him and notice that he's the one who came in with the woman and pushed his way to the front.

"Zilocke... what are you doing here?" Jadis asks him, the expression on her face is half surprised and half worried. The man they called Zilocke removes the hood from his head and looks directly at me. His eyes seem to be studying my face, and while he does so, I take the moment to study his features. His hair is dark brown and his features appear weathered. The roughness of his appearance adds years to his face and he looks a lot older than what he probably is. He has a scar going over his left eye and various old scars on his face. I get the hint that he was handsome as a younger man but many years of pushing himself to the limit has caused his appearance to deteriorate. When he speaks his voice rumbles like thunder through the whole room.

"Everyone out. Court is over." He says. Griselda and Jadis move to their feet and even they appear scared. I look at the gathered crowd and everyone has begun to shuffle towards the back doors

"This doesn't involve you, you weren't asked to join the court." Jadis argues.

"_Any _witch business involves me. For your sakes I'm trying to ignore the fact that I wasn't even told who it was that was on trial." He says, his voice deep and commanding. The rest of the people clear the room and the girl who came with Zilocke stays in her spot at the back of the room, watching us.

"It's really sweet of you to come to my defence, Zilocke." I hear Pan say from behind me. I can't see his face but from the tone of his voice I can tell he's smiling at the man slyly.

"I'll get to you later, Pan. For now, why don't you shut the hell up?" Zilocke says, before turning to look at Li.

"You're done here, too." He orders. Li narrows his eyes slightly and looks over to me.

"She belongs to me." He says, pointing in my direction. Anger rises in my chest but my hostility is voiced accurately by Zilocke when he speaks next.

"She is a person and belongs to no one but herself. Mr Gao, the next time you dare to try and claim a Veela you had better pray that she can't break through her chains." He says. Li looks at him in confusion and looks over at me.

"But she can't..." When he says it, it almost sounds like a question. Zilocke makes eye contact with me and moves his eyes to the rune on my shoulder. I look down at it to find that it seems to be melting away and sliding off my skin. I allow the heat in my chest to rise and feel my talons break through the skin of my fingertips. My arms are filled with strength and I'm able yank my arms free of the chains, a great crack fills the air as the broken chains fall to the ground. My breathing goes heavy and I move to stand on my feet, my wings break through my back and I turn to face Li. Li lets out a shout and turns to bolt, running through the room and towards the back doors. I watch him as he runs to see him slink past the cloaked girl and force himself through the back doors in panic. My eyes then move to the cloaked girl who's still just staring at me. As I'm transforming, my eyesight is getting even better and I can almost make out her features through the shadow on her face. The fire in my chest dies out, however, and I feel my talons and wings quickly shrink back. I look over to Zilocke who still has his eyes on me and figure that he's the one stopping me from turning into a harpy.

"Anyway, I'm going to take your prisoners and deal with them accordingly." Zilocke says, walking over to Peter.

"I can't allow that." Jadis says, taking a few steps towards him. Zilocke stops and turns around to look at her.

"Are you going to stop me, Jade?" He asks. Jadis narrows her eyes and takes a half-step back.

"She broke our laws, Locke, you can't just wave your hand and expect this to go away." Griselda says, moving to stand at Jadis' side. I raise an eyebrow, looking between them. Zilocke glances at me before turning away and placing a hand on Peter's arm, pulling him to his feet. Peter looks just as confused as me and the chains on his wrists fall to the floor.

"I'll take care of it." Zilocke says, pushing Peter to walk to my side. When he moves next to me I can't help but reach my hand out for him. Peter wraps an arm around me but keeps his weary eyes on Zilocke, who he's clearly cautious of. Zilocke is looking at the two women and when he turns to look at Peter and I he rolls his eyes and steps toward us, separating us with his arm. Peter is pushed away from me and I give Zilocke a dark stare.

"You can wait for me outside." He says, looking between us. Peter nods to me and walks off towards the back of the room. I follow after him hastily and take a quick glance back at the Warlock who fascinates me. We reach the back of the room and I look over at the cloaked girl. She turns her head and watches us as we leave. Peter and I move just beyond the open doors and I stop, without moving my eyes off the girl. I tilt my head, getting a strange feeling about her.

"Have we met?" I ask her, taking a half-step forward. The girl is still watching me and I try my hardest to focus on the shadows hiding her face. I'm caught by surprise when the girl flicks her hand out toward me and the doors are slammed in my face. I close my gaping mouth and turn to my side, my eyes meeting Peter's.


	14. Chapter 14 - The Locket

**Chapter ****1****4**

Peter reaches his hand out for me and I move willingly into his arms. I feel his face nuzzle into my neck and I hear him inhale.

"I've missed you so much." He whispers into my ear. I close my eyes and have to force myself to step away from him.

"What did you do?" I ask him, forcing myself to be stern. "And who the hell is that?" I thrust a finger towards the double doors.

"My feud with the witches is just a petty part of my history. And that man is Zilocke; he's among the most powerful of them all but he doesn't hate me." He tries to reach out for me again but I fold my arms, shaking my head.

"A 'petty feud'? Are you kidding? They almost killed you." I gesture to his beaten and bleeding chest as I say it.

"I knew he would come that why I told you not to." He says.

"What does he want from you?" I furrow my eyebrows. Peter looks at me hesitantly before shaking his head.

"It doesn't matter." He says quietly. "Will you please just come here and kiss me?" He holds his arms open for me and I pause. All my guilt comes back to me and I feel another tear roll down my cheek.

"I kissed William... and Felix." I say it slowly and clearly. Peter's hand drops away from me and he looks to the ground. He crosses his arms and appears deep in thought.

"Listen- I'm sorry and I wish I had thought it through at the time but you kissed Laura and you know how I feel about her." I try to reason with him. Confusion passes over his face before he clenches his fist in annoyance.

"Gao." He utters under his breath. "Lena that's not the same thing, I did that because I had to keep up appearances, it was an act." He adds.

"And how do you know me kissing them wasn't apart of an act?" I furrow my eyebrows. Pan appears exasperated and it looks like he's about to punch the wall.

"Because, Lena, you're in love with Felix! It doesn't matter what situation called for it." He sighs and shakes his head, calming down. "You don't understand how much it hurts to love someone and know that they'll never completely love you back." He says and I look to the ground in shame.

"I do love you... I just also love Felix. I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm like this." I fold my arms.

"I know why." A voice says from behind me. I turn around to see the cloaked girl standing by the doors. Her accent is English and I don't recognise it.

"It's because you're a Veela and Veela will always pick the option that brings the most danger and fun. Expecting anything else from her was moronic." She says pointedly in Peter's direction. From her voice I can tell she's also young, probably around my age. Maybe it's the adrenaline still running through me from my transformation but I have the sudden urge to resort to anger.

"No one asked you." I hiss at her.

"You don't even belong here- these grounds are sacred to the witches. Having your kind here is an insult to us." She says with venom. I take a step toward her and extend my hand in warning, my talons growing from them quickly. She brings out her hand and a black cloud appears around it. We stare each other down – even though I can't see her face – and I curse at her. Zilocke steps through the doors suddenly and gives the cloaked girl a stern look.

"Don't even think about it." He says to her. She lowers her hand and slightly bows her head to him in embarrassment.

"What do you want from Peter?" I ask him, my talons still raised.

"Lena-" Peter says from behind me, warning and worry in his voice. He clearly doesn't want me to upset this man. Zilocke simply curls his lips in an amused smile before gesturing for the cloaked girl to walk ahead.

"Come along, Sage." He says to her, nodding to me as he walks past. "You had best head home too. I'm sure your aunt is losing sleep just worrying about you." Zilocke and the girl walk past me and I turn to look at Peter. We make eye contact and my anger fades away quickly.

"Will you come with me?" I ask him. Peter looks like he's almost about to say yes but Zilocke interrupts once again.

"No, he'll be coming with me to work off his debt." He says, not looking back as he walks away. Peter looks at me with a frown.

"Just tell me something- if I had asked to marry you again would you have said yes?" He asks. I take a breath and remain calm as I respond.

"No." This causes him to look to the ground with a hurt expression. "But it's not because I don't love you and it's not because of Felix. That one is just me." I add. He nods to this slowly before looking at Zilocke as he walks away.

"You know I still love you. I probably always will." He says, turning back to me. I feel my knuckles clench at my side, knowing that I'm losing him again.

"I'm sorry." I say again, taking a few steps towards him. He sighs, moving his hands to take mine.

"I suppose you've lost Felix just as I have." He says.

"I've lost both of you." I reply. He moves his lips to mine and kisses me softly.

"It's just not our time yet." He says in a whisper. Zilocke calls back to us from the end of the hall.

"Time to go, Pan." He moves his eyes over to look at me. "I'll be seeing you again, dear Lena." I narrow my eyes at him and he grins at me with that amused smile. Why does he act like he already knows me? Peter moves away from me and walks over to Zilocke. The three disappear through the door at the end of the hall and I'm left standing alone. I should go and find Griselda and Jadis, now might be my only chance to ask about my mother. I turn around and head for the double doors before running up to the front area where Jadis and Griselda are still talking.

"I have some questions about my mother." I say with seriousness. The two women stop talking and glance to each other silently.

"Ask your aunt." Griselda says, moving towards me.

"What are you doing?" I ask, taking a few steps back. She grips onto my arm and I go dizzy, feeling a rush of air around me.

When I open my eyes I'm back in the forest near the rice paddies and it's just after dawn. I turn around to look behind me and the cave entrance is nowhere in sight, nor are the rune-marked trees. I hear another whoosh of wind and my backpack falls from the sky to my feet. I kick up the leaves and scream.

"Let me back in! Griselda, Jadis! I need to talk to you!" I kick some fallen branches and damage my surroundings until I'm out of breath and sitting on the ground.

"Lena." William's voice says. I snap my head up in the direction of his voice and see him standing near the road. "Time to go home." He holds up some car keys in his hand and appears exhausted and run-down. I move from my position on the ground and slowly walk over to him.

"I have had the strangest afternoon, William. I can't even-" I rub my eyes in frustration at tonight's events and William remains silent. I look up at him and notice that he appears upset.

"Oh god. What's happened?" I ask him.

"Cassiopeia is sick. We need to get you home." He says.

–

After about two days of travelling back home and arriving at Flitwick mountain I'm finally sat at my aunt's side while she lays in her bed. I recall everything that happened on my trip and she nods and murmurs a tired reply when her input is needed. She apologises multiple times for trading me off to a possessive warlock and in her current state I don't have the heart to get mad at her. We're in the middle of talking when the door is swung open and Emmeline hurries into the room.

"Mother!?" She shrieks, clearly upset. She runs to Cassiopeia's side and grips onto her hand, kneeling on the floor beside her.

"Wipe away your tears Em, it's unseemly." Cassiopeia says. I can't help but smile at this comment and Emmeline gives me a cold look.

"What are you smiling at? Our Matriarch is sick." She says. I open my mouth to respond and Cassiopeia shushes us.

"Girls, hush. You're going to have to start treating each other better. You two will be in charge when I pass and if you're constantly at war you'll run our race to the ground." She says.

"Mother don't talk like that!" Emmeline says quickly, stroking her mother's hand. "You're going to be just fine." I bite my lip as I look at the two by my side. Cassiopeia looks much older than she did when I left. Her hair has started to grey and her face has wrinkles appearing. I've also never seen Emmeline in such a sate as this. Her skin is tan from her time in the middle-east but her eyes are red and weary, she's barely keeping herself together. I know I need to give these two a moment alone. I stand from my seat and pat down my dress.

"I'll be back later, I need to speak with Aetius." I nod to the two, excusing myself from the room. I take a last glance at the two before I move through the door and watching Cassiopeia stroke Emmeline's hair causes me to feel a shot of pain in my chest. It must been nice to have a mother. I close the door behind me and half-heartedly smile at William who's seated just outside the door.

"Don't you want to be in there with your mother?" I ask him.

"She's not really my mother, Emmeline has more right than I do." He shakes his head as he replies.

"She adopted you so, legally, she is. And I know you care about her- I'm sure Emmeline will understand." I tilt my head to him. He taps his fingers on his arm rest in thought and I furrow my eyebrows, noticing something odd about him. He hasn't bothered to shave so his chin has stubble and his hair is a mess. He has dark rings under his eyes but he doesn't appear to be slightly swaying in intoxication as he usually is.

"Are you alright?" I ask. He looks up at me and smirks.

"I'm sober, of course I'm not." He shakes his head. I walk to his side and place my hand on his head to comfort him. He rests his head against my hip and closes his eyes.

"Is that what she told you? That she's sick?" He asks.

"Isn't she?" I raise an eyebrow. He sighs deeply and I can tell it's hard for him to say it out loud.

"This is it, Lena. She's been alive a very long time... she's not getting out of that bed." His voice slightly breaks as he says it and it causes my eyes to sting.

"I didn't realise." I say in a small voice, still running my hand through his hair.

"It's going to be a tough few months."

"Months?" I widen my eyes.

"If we're lucky." He says. We stand in silence for another moment before he speaks again.

"There's a box of old photos in a storage room in the cellar. I think it'll be nice for her to see them." He utters.

"I'll go get them." I respond, stepping away from him and nodding to the door. "You should go in there." I add. He looks at the door and considers it for a moment before moving to his feet. He knocks lightly and opens the door to enter as I turn away to head for the wine cellar.

When I find the storage room I flick on the light and start sorting through boxes. I finally get a glimpse of some sepia-toned photos in a box and I wrap my arms around it to pull it away from the stack it's in. It's when I pull it away that I see a labelled box which almost makes me drop the one I'm holding. I quickly place the photo box on the ground and reach for the box labelled 'Arabella'. I sort through it to find many different trinkets and old jewellery. I glance over some letters sent between Arabella and Cassiopeia in which my mother calls my aunt 'Cassie'. The letters tell stories of my mother's travels and how she did similar jobs to what I did when I posed as Li's fiance. In one letter I come across my mother mentions how she's met someone who she's fallen in love with. She states that he's not a Nyx so their mother would never approve but she can't deny her feelings. I smirk as I read how lovingly she writes about this man, the words echo how I feel for Peter... and Felix. When they come to my thoughts I feel my eyes sting again and a tear rolls down my cheek. Dammit, I'm trying to stop this from happening. I sit back against the wall with the box between my legs. I'm trying not to sniffle too loud as I cry just in case someone walks past. As my eyes are filled with tears a blurry shine of light sparkles from the box. I reach forward and pick up a small locket, dusting the front of it off. I open the locket up and my breathing stops as I see the face within. The picture is old and the man is much younger than when I saw him- but he bares an undeniable resemblance to Zilocke. I shut the locket and close my fist over it before moving to my feet and grabbing the photo box. I need to go speak with Cassiopeia. I heave the box upstairs and move into the main hall before I'm stopped by a Nyx who looks to be Cassiopeia's age. He has clothes similar to the dress-style I and the rest of the Veela are wearing and his expression is stern.

"Lena Flitwick, Cassiopeia's niece?" He asks. I look from him to the group of men in similar appearance to him standing near us. Emmeline is standing with them and she's looking at me with just as much confusion as I have.

"Yes, that's me." I say, gripping the locket tighter in my hands.

"We're the elders. We need to speak with you and your cousin about Cassiopeia's heir." I tilt my head to him before a sniffle catches my attention. Emmeline has begun crying again.

**THE END**


	15. The Epilogue

**E****PILOGUE**

**12 months later, in a small home in suburban America.**

I run my thumbs over her picture gently. Her bright blue eyes stand out as they stare back at me. Her dark brown hair sits elegantly on her shoulders and on her face is the smile I fell in love with. My daydream is interrupted when I hear my son crying out from his crib. I hear Laura hurry down the hall to soothe him and there is a knock on my door. I quickly shove the picture into my pocket and turn around to see who it is. Pan stands at the doorway with a grin.

"Pan!" I say as I stand, moving over to him.

"Hey Felix." He smiles, pulling me over to pat me on the back. We shake hands and I walk with him down the hall.

"I haven't seen you in so long, what have you been up to?" I ask.

"I've been paying off my debt to Zilocke, doing anything he asks. It does come with its benefits, though." He says, flicking his hand at the door ahead of us. It swings open and I grin again.

"You got your powers back?" I ask.

"It's only temporary and Zilocke controls it, but yeah." He says. We walk into my son's room where Laura is standing with her back to us and cooing at Finn. She widens her eyes when she sees Pan but she hands Finn over to me and leaves the room without complaint. I hold Finn gently, still worried that I'll damage his fragile frame in my arms. Pan walks up to me and looks down at him.

"I think he looks like a Peter." He says with a smirk.

"Please don't insult my son." I say, raising an eyebrow. Pan laughs and walks over to take a seat.

"Peter is his middle name. He's Finn." I clarify, gently rocking Finn as he makes small noises.

"And I assume you've given him Laura's surname." He says.

"Hammond." I nod.

"And so- what? You've gotten a job? How old do they think you are?" He inquires.

"I'm managing. Laura's family set us up with this house and they got me a job. I'm telling people I'm twenty-five." I shrug, looking down at Finn- who's fallen asleep again. Peter nods and brings a dark green piece of paper out of his pocket.

"I assume you got your invitation." He flips the paper around in his fingers. I nod to him, moving Finn back into his crib.

"Are you going to go?" He asks me.

"I can't. Laura would never allow me to." I tell him.

"So invite her to come too." He says with a shrug.

"We're only invited because Lena wanted us there. I'm not going to insult her by bringing Laura."

"So then don't bring her. Lena wants us there- are you really going to say no?" I shake my head with a sigh.

"She hasn't contacted me in a year. I don't think I should go." I sit down on the armchair near him.

"Yeah, I'm sure her not reaching out to you has nothing to do with Laura." He says sarcastically. I run my hand through my hair in frustration.

"Why do you even want me there?" I ask him, trying my hardest to meet his eyes. He looks back at me steadily and, as it always does when I'm with him, it feels like he's in charge.

"I might hate that she loves you, Felix. But I don't hate you." He says with seriousness. At this statement I can't continue to look at him and I move my eyes to the floor.

"We're her friends and she needs us." He says. I lean back in my seat and tap my fingers on the armrest.

"What's she been doing lately, anyway?" I ask.

"Acting like a spy, coercing the secrets out of the royal family of some country in Europe." He says with a grin. I smile as well, the image of Lena adorned in jewels and dressed like a royal coming into my mind. When I imagine her I can't get the image out of my head.

"Have you been keeping in touch?" I ask.

"Zilocke doesn't allow me to for some reason. I think he has something against the Veela." He shrugs.

"So us going would mean that we're directly betraying the wishes of the people that order us around?" I smirk at him.

"She's worth it don't you think?" I move my hand over my pocket where her picture rests.

"Alright I'll go. But I'm bringing Finn with me." I say, looking over at him. Pan nods to me with a smile.

"Won't that be cheating?" He asks. I can't help but grin at him.

"May the best man win."


End file.
